Polish farmers have blocked the border with Ukraine at the Medyka-Shehyni crossing point again, this time protesting the upcoming EU-Mercosur trade agreement rather than Ukrainian grain imports that sparked last winter’s blockade.
Last winter’s protests, which lasted until April, targeted an influx of Ukrainian grain through Poland after Russia’s Black Sea blockade forced Ukraine to redirect its exports overland. The prolonged demonstrations disrupted crucial supply routes, straining both Polish-Ukrainian relations and Ukraine’s wartime economy.
Thirty protesters have gathered near the railway viaduct at Medyka’s entrance since morning, severely restricting traffic flow. Trucks from Poland to Ukraine are being limited to one per hour, while all vehicles over 3.5 tons leaving Ukraine face a complete blockade.
While the protest is scheduled for 48 hours, Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, told BBC Ukraine it could extend longer. The farmers have threatened to continue until year’s end if their demands aren’t met.
“We want to pressure those in power so this agreement doesn’t happen,” said Roman Kondrów, leader of the Podkarpacka Oszukana Wieś association organizing the protests.
The farmers fear the EU-Mercosur agreement, which is set for November’s signing, will flood their market with cheap South American food products.
According to Bloomberg, the opposition extends beyond Poland. Farmers in France and Italy also reject the agreement’s terms.
Today’s border disruption carries particular historical weight as Ukraine commemorates the victims of the Holodomors on 23 November. The most devastating of these famines occurred in 1932-1933 when Stalin’s regime engineered a genocide that killed an estimated 4 million Ukrainians. Even as millions starved, the Soviet authorities exported 1.8 million tons of Ukrainian grain in 1932 alone, transforming Europe’s breadbasket into a land of unprecedented tragedy.
Read more:
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