Polish protesters again block crossing on border with Ukraine

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Polish protesters on Monday evening placed a truck across a road leading to the Yagodin-Dorohusk crossing on the border with Ukraine, even though the Polish authorities cancelled their permission for holding the protest.

"Unfortunately, a semitrailer that has been here for a month blocked the road," the Polish protesters' leader Rafal Mekler said on social media, also posting a photo of a truck fully blocking the road.

Polish police armed with shields tried to unblock the road overnight into Tuesday, protesters said on social media, publishing a corresponding video.

An ever-growing number of protesters is arriving in Dorohusk, Mekler said.

According to Mekler, the authorities may withdraw permission for holding a protest outside the Rava Russkaya-Hrebenne border crossing on Tuesday, December 12.

As reported, the lines outside the blocked crossing points on the Ukrainian-Polish border stretched out to 40 kilometers on the Polish side of the border due to Polish carriers protesting at the Yagodin-Dorohusk, Krakovets-Korczowa and Rava Russkaya-Hrebenne checkpoints since November 6. Polish truckers extended the blockade to include the Shegini-Medyka border crossing on November 22. Only border crossings processing empty trucks and light-duty vehicles remained open to traffic.

The blockade organizers want the transport permits for Ukrainian truckers suspended in 2022 to be reinstated. According to them, they have permission from local authorities to continue their campaign until January 3, 2024 and at some checkpoints, until February. Ukraine, in turn, expects the border to be fully unblocked after the new government led by Donald Tusk comes to power in Poland.

Slovak haulers, who held a warning protest in November, joined Polish truckers on December 1, blocking the Vysne Nemecke-Uzhgorod crossing on the border with Ukraine. They stopped the protest in the evening on December 4, but resumed it on December 11.

Hungarian truckers also announced a protest at a crossing point on the border with Ukraine from December 11.

Ukrainian exports by road fell 26.7% to 783,000 tonnes in November month-on-month, and imports dropped 23.5% to 967,100 tonnes, the Ukrainian State Customs Service said. In particular, Ukrainian exports via Poland declined 39.3% to 282,300 tonnes, while imports dropped 44.6% to 511,600 tonnes. Out of the four blocked border crossings, the biggest decline was recorded at the Yagodin-Dorohusk crossing, with exports by truck falling almost 80% to 32,400 tonnes and imports 67.7% to 113,700 tonnes.

Exports by truck via Hungary increased by 0.3% to 163,200 tonnes and imports grew by 39.4% to 137,500 tonnes in November. Exports via Slovakia fell 6.9% to 66,200 tonnes in November, while imports rose 29.1% to 88,300 tonnes.