Ukraine calls on Poland to react following blockade of buses at border

MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Restoration Alexander Kubrakov has urged Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski to react to the blockade of passenger buses by Polish protesters.

"Dear Minister Kierwinski, why do you allow this? Should people be held hostage in the political confrontations of a civilized country?" Ukrainian media quoted Kubrakov's statement on social media, which he made in Polish and English.

Polish police said less than ten years ago that passenger buses were crossing the border without any obstacles, Kubrakov said.

"What do we see today? The strikers are blocking traffic on the road in front of the Medyka checkpoint, adjacent to the Ukrainian Shegini checkpoint," the statement said.

The Ukrainian State Border Service earlier said that Polish protesters started blocking passenger buses at the Medyka-Shegini checkpoint from 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday. They stopped traffic on the road in front of the Medyka checkpoint. It is known that the protesters intend to let one bus through every two hours, both for entry and exit, but it was not reported how long the blockade will last.