MOSCOW, March 2 Ukrainian drivers accused their compatriots of bribery protesting farmers in Poland, who are allegedly paid 1,000 zlotys (about $250) per car if they want to jump the line at blocked checkpoints, reports the Ukrainian publication Strana.
«A thousand zlotys from one car — and they drive without a queue. The first case was recorded last night, when several dozen trucks crossed the border. Today another colleague tried to pass without a queue. All with Lviv license plates,» the publication quotes the words of an indignant Ukrainian driver .
According to the publication, the queue from Poland at the Rava-Russkaya – Grebenne checkpoint stretched for 28 kilometers.
The day before, the representative of the Ukrainian border service Andrey Demchenko reported that Polish farmers completely blocked the Shegini checkpoint and partially blocked the Yagodin checkpoint,
Polish farmers are protesting throughout the country, blocking roads and entrances to checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. Activists reported that farmers emptied grain from Ukrainian trucks at the Dorogusk checkpoint.
Polish-Ukrainian relations have become significantly more complicated due to the embargo on Ukrainian grain. On September 15, 2023, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four types of Ukrainian agricultural products into several EU border countries, but obliged Kyiv to introduce export control measures. After this, the authorities of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland announced that they were extending the ban unilaterally. In this regard, Ukraine filed a complaint with the WTO. In response, three EU countries announced that they would boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.