Ukrainian Ambassador urges strong response to Polish farmers’ ‘shameful and offensive’ grain spillage
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Kyiv demands justice for Polish farmers who dumped grain from Ukrainian trucks en route to Lithuania on Feb. 11, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Zvarych wrote on Facebook on Feb. 12.
He confirmed that, at the request of Ukrainian diplomats, Polish police have opened an investigation and initiated the necessary procedures. According to him, they are in direct contact with the truck drivers.
Read also: Polish government reaches agreement with truckers, ending border blockade
“Such protest methods should not be tolerated in a civilized European country, not to mention the moral aspect of this provocation,” he said.
“Therefore, we demand that the perpetrators be found and held accountable.”
Zvarych called on the Polish authorities to respond to the “shameful and offensive crime for Ukrainians and most Poles” with a strong legal response to prevent such actions in the future.
Read also: Yahodyn-Dorohusk blocked starting February 9 — UA Customs
On Feb. 11, Polish protesters damaged Ukrainian trucks and spilled grain near the Dorohusk border crossing with Ukraine. According to the reports, three tons of grain were spilled from each damaged truck.
Polish farmers resumed protests at the Shehyni-Medyka checkpoint and blocked two other border crossings with Ukraine at Zosyn-Ustyluh and Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv around 10:10 am EET, the State Border Guard Service reported on Telegram on Feb. 12.
The Yahodyn-Dorohusk and Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border have been blocked since Feb. 9.
Polish carriers began protests on the border with Ukraine on Nov. 6, blocking three checkpoints for freight traffic: Korczowa-Krakivets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yahodyn.
On Nov. 22, the blockade of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Polish border was extended until Feb. 1, 2024.
Polish farmers joined the carriers blocking the Polish-Ukrainian border on Dec. 20.
The Polish government signed an agreement with the farmers to end the blockade of the border with Ukraine on Jan. 6.
Read also: Polish government to sign agreement with farmers to end border blockade with Ukraine
The European Union is preparing a bill that extends duty-free trade with Ukraine until June 2025, rejecting Poland’s proposal to restore tariffs on some “sensitive products”.
Instead, Poland is demanding that a “safeguard clause” be introduced for Ukrainian products, which provides for the possibility of applying regional safeguard measures if a market problem affects not the entire EU but one member state or region.
Polish truckers had previously reached an agreement with the government to suspend their protests on Jan. 17, according to remarks made by protest leader Tomasz Borkowski on Jan. 16. Polish carriers unblocked the last checkpoint on the border with Ukraine Yahodyn–Dorohusk on the same day. The blockade was suspended until March 1.
However, on Feb. 2, Polish farmers said that they had “lost their patience” and would launch a nationwide strike on Feb. 9, blocking the border with Ukraine.
Read also: Polish farmers lift blockade at major Ukraine border crossing after truck traffic halted
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
