Complication of the Polish and Slovak truckers’ strike crisis at the border of Ukraine

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, “S In an article, RF discussed the worsening of the problem of blocking Ukrainian borders by Polish and Slovak truck drivers in protest of granting special privileges to Ukraine by the European Union and wrote: Without access to toilets, water or food, Ukrainian truck drivers have to spend days in the cold Tolerate the cold in the borders. Supermarkets are usually several kilometers away.

This is what happens to Ukrainian truck drivers on the border between Poland and Ukraine. Their vehicles are now left in the cold miles away from the border, and the bodies of two Ukrainian drivers have been found in the cabin of a truck. Polish trucks have blocked three border crossings with Ukraine, allowing only a few vehicles to pass each hour. About ten days ago, Polish farmers joined them and blocked the fourth border crossing. In the shadow of the rules and special privileges of the European Union, they lose in favor of their Ukrainian colleagues. Sarah Novotny, correspondent of SRF Eastern Europe, says: Ukrainian drivers have much lower wages and do not have to comply with the rest time regulations of the European Union.

A quick solution to these problems at the border is rarely foreseen. The old Polish government is on the verge of stepping down and is happy to hand the hot potato to the yet-to-be-formed new government, and they have yet to come up with a recipe for how to deal with the conflict.

According to Ukrainian information, the number of trucks currently stuck at the border is now 2,500.

All these issues and crises started with the European Union’s decision in June 2022 to remove all obstacles on the way of Ukraine’s land transport to the West. February 2022, the country’s airspace is closed and the route to the Black Sea is blocked by the Russian Navy. Therefore, the only option is to take the land route to the west.

Since then, Ukrainian trucks are allowed to enter the EU without a special permit. become As a result, the number of trips of Ukrainians to the West increased many times.

These trucks carry grain, sunflower oil or steel to the European Union and, for example, , return gasoline or humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This will help the Ukrainian government generate much-needed revenue and keep the economy afloat despite the war. They feel weak with their Ukrainian colleagues and talk about unfair competition. They are demanding the return of permits for Ukrainian trips.

The situation has worsened since the weekend, as Slovak truck drivers have now joined their Polish colleagues. They blocked the only border crossing with Ukraine where the trucks are processed.

The Ukrainian government has announced that the situation is catastrophic and is talking about a loss of around 400 million euros. For the economy of Ukraine has been so far. Now there is concern about the lack of supply and the increase in the price of imported goods.

Currently intensive negotiations are going on bilaterally and also within the European Union. But no solution is foreseen, and even if an agreement is reached, people in Kyiv feel abandoned by their western neighbors.

In addition This, this chaotic situation comes at a time when Ukraine is weakened and can only barely defend itself against Russian attacks. In this situation, this country needs urgent help instead of confronting its western neighbors.

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