Polish truck drivers have been protesting against Ukrainian truck drivers for weeks, and during the strike many important border crossings into Ukraine were closed. On the other side of the border there are queues 30-40 kilometers long, and shipments of Ukrainian goods cannot enter Poland. We wrote about the background to the event here:
Today, Polish truckers set up another blockade near Medica, This time they were also joined by representatives of the agricultural sector.
We would like to put an end to this demonstration, because it is negatively affecting us and everyone in our environment. But we will not surrender until our demands are met.”
– said Tomas Borkowski, head of one of the Polish trucking trade unions.
Among other things, Polish truck drivers want the EU to restore entry quotas for Ukrainian truck drivers and inspect Ukrainian transport companies. According to their claim, they fear that Belarusian and Russian companies will deliberately exclude them from their markets within the European Union.
Because of the blockade, an increasingly serious humanitarian situation is emerging: Two Ukrainian truck drivers have already died on the other side of the border, and at the same time relief organizations are trying to help stranded transporters with food and water. According to the Ukrainian government, Poles are also preventing humanitarian aid from entering Ukraine, but the striking truck drivers deny this.
Cover image source: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
