Polish farmers halt border blockade at Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint for holidays

The Polish blockade at one of the four blocked border crossings stopped on 24 Dec at 8 am, Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture said. The blockade may resume on 2-3 January 2024.

byMaria Tril

24/12/2023

2 minute read

A truck on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Credit: Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister at Ukraine’s Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure \ Facebook

Polish farmers halt border blockade at Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint for holidays

On the morning of 24 December at 8 am, Polish farmers stopped protesting at the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing for the holidays, Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture said on X (Twitter).

Nearly 4000 trucks stuck in line at the border with Poland to enter Ukraine as of 24 December, according to Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. The blockade continues at three checkpoints – Yahodyn, Rava-Ruska, and Krakovets.

After Minister Czeslaw Siekierski met with the Polish protesters at the Medyka-Shehyni border, the blockade was stopped for the holidays.

https://twitter.com/MRiRW_GOV_PL/status/1738513371039723625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1738513371039723625%7Ctwgr%5E482a5d483d733939ea854f5dcc17bf25988a1186%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radiosvoboda.org%2Fa%2Fnews-blokuvannya-pryzupynennya-kordon-polshcha-medyka%2F32744516.html

Farmers may resume the strike at the border on 2-3 January 2024, Radio Liberty reported, citing the Polish radio station RMF FM. One of the strike organizers, Roman Kondruw, said, “if we receive a written statement from the Prime Minister that our demands will be met, the protest will likely not be resumed.”

On 6 November, dozens of Polish truck drivers blocked three border crossings with Ukraine and expanded it to a fourth crossing later. They blocked the trucks’ movement on the Polish-Ukrainian border, demanding the return of permits for Ukrainian drivers and the removal of Polish vehicles from the electronic queue.

Ukraine and the European Union signed the Agreement on Road Freight Transport on 29 June 2022. Its initial term was one year with the possibility of extension. Subsequently, the agreement was extended until the end of June 2024.

On 13 November, talks between Ukraine and Poland at the countries’ border failed to resolve the strike, and four days later, nearly 3,000 trucks had congested the Polish-Ukrainian border.

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