By KYIV. Nov 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The State Customs Service of Ukraine, following the State Border Guard Service, has reported a complicated situation with the movement of transport, especially to enter Ukraine, at three Ukrainian-Polish border crossing points, Yahodyn-Dorohusk, Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne, and Krakovets-Korczowa, due to a strike by the Polish carriers.
The Customs Service said on its website that, at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, the protesters will let one vehicle per hours in both directions.
The restrictions do not apply to buses, vehicles carrying humanitarian aid, perishable goods, live animals, and hazardous goods (fuel tanks) in both directions.
The protest is announced to last until December 3, the State Customs Service said.
At the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne checkpoint, the movement of freight transport continues to be blocked before entering the fright direction and the movement of vehicles heading towards Ukraine is also partially blocked.
At the Krakovets-Korczowa checkpoint, around ten trucks have blocked traffic towards the checkpoint from the Polish side. The protesters are waiting for the authorities to arrive and hear their demands, the Customs Service said.
It also said that there has not yet been an accumulation of trucks, and cars are entering the Korczowa checkpoint unhindered.
As reported, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland called to stop the strikes at the Ukrainian-Polish checkpoints as they pose threat to the “solidarity corridors” and is “a stab in the back.”
Earlier, it was reported that Polish carriers, with the participation of 200 people and using 100 tractors, planned to hold a one-day strike at three checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border on November 3. However, the start date of the blockade of freight transport traffic was postponed to November 6.
One of the main demands of the protest organizers is a return to the practice of issuing permits for Ukrainian cargo carriers and reducing their number to the pre-war level, when up to 200,000 permits were issued per year. In addition, carriers want empty Polish trucks returning from Ukraine to Poland to be able to cross the border without using the eCherha system, without waiting 10-12 days. Carriers are also demanding stricter transportation rules under the ECMT (certificate of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport).
The Reconstruction Ministry of Ukraine confirmed receipt of a message about the preparation of a blockade of the border crossing points on the Ukrainian-Polish border, after which it requested a meeting with official representatives of Poland and the European Commission to ensure stable operation of the border. Deputy Minister Serhiy Derkach said in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency that most of the demands of Polish carriers threatening to close the border are impossible to fulfill.
