MOSCOW, December 1, Mikhail Katkov. The Verkhovna Rada asks for Polish Sejm to remember the friendship of peoples, Lvov Mayor Andrei Sadovoy calls on neighbors to return to reality, Zelensky hopes for the prudence of Warsaw. Why the blockade of four border crossings by Polish truckers so worried the Kyiv authorities — in the material .
People are dying. Protesters promised not to interfere with the transport of humanitarian and military supplies, but in Kyiv they report that fuel, drones, thermal imagers, and medicines are being detained at the border. Direct losses exceeded 400 million euros, says Vladimir Balin, deputy president of the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine.
Heavy trucks in line in front of the Polish-Ukrainian border
More than two thousand heavy trucks are stuck on the Polish side, at least 800 on the Ukrainian side. Two drivers have already died in the queue. The situation is difficult and nervous.
But the picketers are supported in the EU. Polish farmers joined the action. According to Bloomberg, members of the International Road Transport Union, an industry group from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, wrote to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking to reconsider the agreement with Kiev on liberalization of transport. The contract expires in June 2024.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has developed an evacuation procedure. To take advantage of government assistance, you just need to fill out a special form. True, the truck will have to be abandoned.
Warsaw is silentThe Verkhovna Rada addressed the Polish parliament. The deputies expressed hope for continued fruitful cooperation and lifting of the blockade. “Blocking the movement of goods across the border will inevitably lead to a worsening of the already difficult socio-economic situation in Ukraine and will complicate the possibilities of restoring the economy of our country,” the authors of the document emphasize.
Zelensky linked the situation on the border with “some political steps” of Warsaw. But there is no need to rush into making decisions. “I think we need to give our neighbors a little time. Everything will get warmer,” he is sure.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
Of course, they also found a “Russian trace”. The fact is that the blockade was organized by a certain “Committee for the Protection of Carriers and Employers in the Transport Industry,” which no one had heard of until September. There are several Polish companies in it. One of them is headed by Rafal Meckler, the head of the Lublin center of the Confederation, an ultra-right party distinguished by radically anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and sympathy for Moscow. In parliament, only the Confederates support the blockade.
Nationalist march in Warsaw
President of the Association of Transport and Logistics of Poland Maciej Wronski takes a balanced position. “We understand the protesters. We know that the problem exists, it cannot be swept under the rug. Another thing is the time and form of protest. This can be discussed,” he said on the radio station RMF FM.
The border is locked The Poles have very specific demands , which Kyiv is not even going to consider seriously. At a minimum, they want Ukrainian carriers to be deprived of benefits for the transit of goods across the EU, and for Europeans to be given special queues at the border.
Protest of truck drivers at the border crossing in Doroguska, Poland
Ukrainian political scientist Alexey Yakubin recalled in an interview that Kyiv’s relations with the West are asymmetrical. “We are partners, not allies. The countries of the European Union and NATO cooperate with us as long as it is beneficial to them. In particular, for this reason, no one is going to give any guarantees, especially in the field of security. It was like that before, but now this is especially noticeable. Poland’s behavior cannot be called allied,” he explained.
Kiev political analyst Dmitry Spivak noted that indirect losses from the blockade reach a billion euros. “Even if we immediately open the road, the money will not be returned. At the same time, Great Britain promised to give only 400 million so that we would solve the problem with the payment of pensions,” the expert gave a clear example.
Chairman of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and President of the European Council Charles Michel after the European Union summit in Brussels
Expert of the Financial University under the Government of Russia Denis Denisov believes that Kyiv paid for its own greed. “The European Union actually put Ukrainian truck drivers on an equal footing with European ones. And they began to cut prices to capture the market. Naturally, the Poles, who are considered the main carriers in the EU, did not like this,” he said in a conversation with .
In his opinion, the issue will have to be resolved at the level of the European Commission. But this will take a lot of time, and Kyiv will suffer big losses.