Dorohusk checkpoint on Ukrainian-Polish border could be blocked again, this time by Polish farmers

MOSCOW. Dec 18 (Interfax) - The blockade of the biggest checkpoint on the Polish-Ukrainian border, Dorohusk-Yagodin, due to resume on Monday afternoon, will now be carried out by the association of Polish farmers from the Oszukana Wies or Betrayed Countryside association, said Rafal Mekler, one of the leaders of the Polish truckers blocking the border.

The Polish protesters are demanding the suspension of sugar imports from Ukraine, the immediate payment of direct subsidies by the Polish authorities and the preservation of excise duty compensation on fuel, as well as compensation to corn growers, Ukrainian media quoted Mekler as saying on social media.

Despite a ban on grain imports from Ukraine being in place for many months, it is being claimed the situation on the Polish market is becoming catastrophic due to the uncontrolled influx of grain from Ukraine. The 2023 harvest has not improved prospects, and general solutions to protect the domestic market are not being implemented.

The blockade of the Dorohusk-Yagodin checkpoint and two more border points - Krakovets-Korczowa and Rava Russkaya-Hrebenne on the Polish-Ukrainian border - began on November 6. The blockade extended to the Shegini-Medyka border crossing on November 22, with only checkpoints for empty vehicles and vans remained unblocked. Oszukana Wies is participating in the blockade of the Shegini-Medyka border crossing.

The blockade organizers are demanding the abolition of "visa-free transport" for Ukraine that the European Commission introduced in 2022.

The mayor of Dorohusk put an end to the protest by Polish truckers at this checkpoint on December 11, and later refused to grant a request for a new protest, however a local Polish court overruled him on December 15.

The blockade organizers say they have permission from local authorities to continue their campaign until January 3, and at some checkpoints, until February. Polish media report that the new Dorohusk-Yagodin blockade will last until March inclusive. Ukraine hoped the border would be fully unblocked after the new government led by Donald Tusk came to power in Poland, but so far this has not happened anywhere but Dorohusk.

The protest has seriously affected Ukraine's agricultural exports. The European Commission considers the situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border to be unacceptable.

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