Ukrainian carriers go on protest at 3 checkpoints at Polish border
MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) - Ukrainian carriers have gone on a protest at three checkpoints at the Ukrainian-Polish border, namely, Rava Russkaya, Shegini and Krakovets, Ukrainian media said, citing head of the Ukrainian Transport Union in the Lvov Region Oleg Dubyk.
The action will continue until Polish protesters stop blocking trucks coming from Ukraine, he said.
Representatives of three public organizations of freight carriers take part in the action to demand an end to the blockade at the Polish border and normalization of the traffic, Dubyk said.
"The participants stop Polish trucks arriving from Poland for a few hours, similar to the delay with which Polish protesters allow Ukrainian trucks to pass," Dubyk said, adding that they let cars and humanitarian trucks go.
In the meantime, Kiev continues to comment on the border incident, in which Polish farmers spilled Ukrainian grain over the railroad track. Ukrainian media cited a statement by Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Solsky.
As he commented on the situation near the Medyka-Sheginy checkpoint, where the Polish protesters blocked the railroad and spilled grain from a hopper over the track, Solsky said that Ukraine strongly condemned protests of the kind happening at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
"The corn spilled by the Polish protesters from a hopper was destined for Germany. Ukrainian corn is not exported to Poland. The hindering of Ukrainian trade with third countries is unacceptable and contravenes the shared Ukrainian-Polish objectives," the ministry press service quoted Solsky as saying.
As reported, the protesting Polish farmers opened a cargo container with agricultural products and spilled them on the ground at the Medyka-Shegini checkpoint.
The carriers said that the protesters blocked the railroad for about 15 minutes before going back to the road, where they block the traffic of trucks. The farmers also try to block Ukrainian Railways trains.
Polish police put a stop to the actions of the protesters at the Dorohusk station near the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian media also reported details of the incident from Ukrainian Railways. It said that 40 Ukrainian freight cars with agricultural products are waiting for transshipment at the station, where the incident took place.
Ukrainian Railways reported an unsanctioned interference in railroad operation to Polish Railways and the Ukrainian embassy to Poland.
Ukrainian Railways reaffirms "its commitment to the ban on grain imports by Poland imposed in April 2023 and carries such products only in transit. Polish controlling agencies check and seal every car at the border. This makes the appearance of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market impossible," the company said.
It expressed indignation at the actions of Polish protesters and urged them to stop the actions, "as they do not help solve possible problems."