Polish truckers block border crossings on the border with Ukraine

In Poland, dozens of truck drivers blocked border checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. They demand that the authorities return the licensing of Ukrainian cargo carriers. Now Ukrainian carriers can enter Poland without a commercial license and are a significant competition for local workers.

As “Ukrainskaya Pravda” clarifies, protesters are blocking three border crossings: in Grebenny, Doroguska, and Korcheva. They allow only one heavy-duty vehicle at a time to and from Ukraine. An exception is made for trucks carrying goods for the army, humanitarian aid, as well as perishable products and livestock.

Since the beginning of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has canceled the need for commercial permits to work in the EU for Ukrainian cargo carriers. Polish drivers demand to cancel this benefit. They accuse Ukrainian drivers of having entered the European Union ostensibly for the purpose of cargo transit, but they are already engaged in transportation within Europe, undercutting prices and causing damage to local business.

Truck drivers compare their situation with a similar problem affecting Polish farmers: this spring, agricultural producers in Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine achieved a moratorium on further imports of grain, oilseeds and other agricultural products from Ukraine. According to them, grain, butter and dairy products from Ukraine, officially intended for export to third countries, were actually sold in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania at dumping prices.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Transport, 40-50 thousand trucks cross the Polish-Ukrainian border every month. This is twice as much as before the war. Most of them belong to Ukrainian companies.