Ukraine's Foreign Ministry sends diplomatic note to Poland after border checkpoint blockage

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has sent a diplomatic note to its Polish counterpart in the wake of the protests staged by Polish freight carriers. On 4 May, Polish carriers blocked the movement of freight transport at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, the largest cargo traffic checkpoint on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

Source: European Pravda; Interfax-Ukraine, citing Serhii Derkach, Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine

Quote from Derkach: "The complaints and demands that Polish carriers are putting forward are irrelevant. We are working on equal and parity terms with Polish carriers, so we see no reason for the checkpoint to be blocked."

Details: Derkach said that Oleksandr Kubrakov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, has written a letter to Poland’s Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk.

Derkach said that there were 3,300 vehicles in the queue at the checkpoint before the protest started; the vehicles were expected to cross the border in five days.

The queue is currently growing shorter because Ukrainian carriers are forced to head for other border checkpoints.

Derkach said it was unclear how the situation with the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint might resolve.

According to Ukrtransbezpeka (Ukrainian Transport Safety, a transport safety enforcement agency established by the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine), 2,782 vehicles remain in the general queue as of 5 May, and 454 vehicles were in the queue for veterinary checks.

Over the course of the day, 661 general queue vehicles were able to enter Poland, but none of the vehicles in the veterinary queue were able to do so. The online monitoring system indicates vehicles in the general queue can expect to spend over 5,5 days waiting to cross into Poland, with the veterinary queue expected to take more than 12 days.

The Polish protesters are demanding the return of permits for international road freight transport for Ukrainian carriers at the entrance to Poland. They are also asking for a ban on the entry of Belarusian and Russian semi-trailers. The protesters declared their intention to protest until 3 June.

Background: This is not the first time the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing point has been blocked. In September 2022, it was blocked on the Polish side, because the entry process for Ukrainian carriers coming into Ukraine was easier than that for Polish carriers. In April 2023, Polish farmers threatened to block the checkpoint amid the grain crisis.

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