Farmers from Poland announced a new strike and border blockade

Polish farmers are planning to go on strike on Saturday in front of the Medyka-Szegyni checkpoint on the border with Ukraine. The traffic restrictions will apply to trucks.

According to the press service of Lviv Customs, Polish customs officers previously informed that farmers plan to start a strike on November 23 at 09:00.

"So far, Polish customs officers have informed that the blocking of vehicle traffic will last until the end of 2024," the statement said.

Svitlana Burda, a representative of the Lviv Border Guard Detachment, said that the action will last 48 hours with a possible extension. Protesters will let buses and cars pass in both directions. The traffic restrictions will apply to trucks. Polish farmers plan to let one truck per hour to enter Ukraine. Trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons will be blocked from leaving Ukraine.

Earlier, Polish protesters blocked five checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. More than a thousand trucks were stuck in queues in Poland heading to Ukraine. The blockade was caused by the European Commission's decision of January 31 to extend the abolition of duties on Ukrainian goods for another year. The blockers demanded the reinstatement of mandatory permits for Ukrainian carriers to travel to the EU and the abolition of electronic queues to leave Ukraine. One of the arguments of the blockers is that Ukrainians are taking jobs away from Polish carriers. Because they drive around Europe without a license.

To avoid crossing the Polish border, Ukraine developed a new export route across the Danube. The new route was designed to increase Ukrainian exports to the level they had been at the beginning of the war. And although many exporters preferred the Black Sea because of its low cost, the volumes through the Danube for Ukraine still amounted to 1.2-1.8 million tons per month.

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