Border blockade: Polish farmers completely block lorry traffic at four checkpoints

Polish farmers have completely blocked the lorry traffic from Ukraine to Poland through the border crossings of Shehyni, Yahodyn, Uhryniv, and Ustyluh.

"As of today, the blockade is taking place at five border crossings. Currently, Polish protesters are not allowing lorries to pass through to Poland at the border crossings of Shehyni, Yahodyn, Uhryniv, and Ustyluh," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said in a comment to Ukrinform.

Additionally, Polish farmers are allowing an extremely small number of cars to pass from Poland to Ukraine at the border crossings of Yahodyn and Shehyni – 50 and 30, respectively, in the past day.

Demchenko said that as of Tuesday morning, a total of 1,500 lorries are queueing on the Polish side of these five routes, with the most significant number opposite the Yahodyn border crossing.

Demchenko recalled that on the night of 8-9 March, Polish farmers stopped the blockade on the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing, but this is likely temporary, as from 13 March, Polish farmers plan to resume the protest. The queue on this route is approximately 500 lorries as of Tuesday morning.

Passenger cars and buses can freely cross the border everywhere; there are no restrictions on the movement of this transport category across the border, Demchenko added.

On the evening of 11 March, Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov stated that he had been informed about cases of Polish protesters and police stopping passenger buses travelling to and from Poland. However, he did not provide details about where and when this occurred, nor did he specify the number of such incidents.

From the comment of the Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, it became known that the reports concerned the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border checkpoint. The Ukrainian consul was sent there.

Demchenko said that Ukrainian border guards do not report problems with passenger transport crossing the Polish border directly, but they do not rule out the possibility that movement through areas where Polish protesters are located, away from the border, may be more difficult.

The Ukrainian consul who went to the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint saw no signs of passenger traffic being blocked. He met with the Polish hauliers protesting near the checkpoint and emphasised the unacceptability of causing delays for buses.