Polish protesters completely block movement of trucks at four border checkpoints

Polish protesters on March 12 completely blocked the movement of trucks from Ukraine to Poland at the checkpoints of "Shehyni," "Yahodyn," "Uhriniv," and "Ustyluh."

This was announced by the State Border Guard Service spokesperson, Andrii Demchenko, in a comment to Hromadske, Rubryka reports.

"As of today, blocking is taking place at five border checkpoints. Currently, Polish protesters are not allowing trucks to pass towards Poland at the checkpoints of 'Shehyni,' 'Yahodyn,' 'Uhriniv,' and 'Ustyluh,'" the spokesperson said.

According to him, as of the morning of March 12, there are 1,500 trucks queued up on the Polish side at these five checkpoints, with the largest number being across from the "Yahodyn" checkpoint. Polish farmers have allowed a very small number of cars from Poland to enter Ukraine at the "Yahodyn" and "Shehyni" checkpoints — 50 and 30, respectively, over the past day.

Demchenko said Polish farmers temporarily stopped blocking the movement towards the "Korchova-Krakivets" checkpoint on the night of March 9: they plan to resume the protest on March 13. As of Tuesday morning, March 12, the queue at this checkpoint is about 500 trucks.

"Passenger cars and buses are freely crossing the border. Movement is not restricted for this category of vehicles," Demchenko added.

What we know about the border closure with Poland

Polish carriers, and later farmers, began blocking the movement of Ukrainian trucks in the fall of 2023. The carriers cited "excessive competition" after the adoption of the "transport visa-free regime" between Ukraine and EU countries as a reason for the strike.

Polish farmers protest to soften the European "green course," close borders to prevent an influx of agri-food products from outside the EU and protect animal husbandry in Poland. They also demand more subsidies, grants, and compensation.

Due to the blockade, the Ukrainian economy has already incurred losses of a billion euros, and Poland's economic losses are even greater. Three Ukrainian drivers have died on Polish territory.

In turn, Ukraine proposes an "Understanding Plan" with five steps, according to which Ukraine offers Poland to unlock the shared border.

On March 6, Polish farmers staged a major strike in Warsaw. Later, the police reported that they were pelted with cobblestones, and several dozen people were detained.

Also, Polish farmers announced that they would continue protests on the border with Ukraine until April 30.

On March 9, the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, met with the leaders of the farmer protests. However, the meeting ended without result as no agreement was reached.

The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine records cases of blocking buses with passengers at the Ukrainian-Polish border.