More than two thousand trucks are standing in line at three directions of the Ukrainian-Polish border due to the ongoing blockade organized by Polish carriers, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, said on a national telethon on Sunday morning.
“Three directions remain blocked: Rava-Ruska – Hrebenne, Krakovets – Korchova, Shehyni-Medyka… As of this morning, there are about 2,150 trucks in the queues in these three directions heading to Ukraine in Poland. Most of them are in front of Shehynia-Medica. There is traffic, but it is not as intense as it was before November 6 or November 23, when the blocking of Shehynia began,” the spokesman said.
At the same time, Demchenko emphasized that the Yahodyn-Dorohusk direction, which was unblocked on December 11, is experiencing heavy traffic of freight transport.
“Over the past day, about 1,500 trucks crossed this direction in both directions. Most of them were heading towards Ukraine. This is a very high rate of border crossing. Because the same number of trucks, even less, crossed the border before the blockade,” said the spokesman.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has announced the arrival of a batch of trucks to Poland by rail from Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian and Polish parties have agreed on all issues of transportation and customs and border procedures. The trucks will continue to their destination by road,” UZ said on its Telegram channel on Sunday.
The company emphasized that the next shipments are planned to be regular and involve more modernized platforms in transportation.
UZ reminded that it had organized a container train between Ukraine and Poland to transport trucks. It runs on the route Sknyliv (Ukraine) – Slavków (Poland). To order the transportation of a truck by a container train from Ukraine, you need to contact the Liski Transport Service Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, and in the opposite direction – UZ Cargo Poland.
As reported, UZ sent the first container train with trucks to Poland on December 7. In this way, Ukrainian exporters tried to solve the problem of crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border, which had been blocked by Polish carriers for a month.
The Union of Road Hauliers of Slovakia (UNAS) has announced its decision to resume blocking truck traffic through the Slovak border crossing point Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod on Monday, December 11, according to the UNAS Facebook page on Sunday.
“The Union of Road Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) decided on 10.12.2023 to extend the protest at the Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod border crossing from 11.12.2023 from 15:00 until further notice,” the statement reads.
The carriers warn that they will “block the entry to the territory of the Slovak Republic for freight transportation. Personal transportation will not be restricted in any way.”
“This decision was made by the Presidium based on an assessment of the information received and its impact on the Slovak road transport market. We join the protests organized in Poland from 06.11.2023 and from 11.12.2023 also in Hungary,” UNAS said.
As of Sunday morning, December 10, about 3,500 trucks are queuing to enter Ukraine at the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), Andriy Demchenko.
“The situation is almost unchanged. Four directions are blocked. “Rava-Ruska – Khrebenne, Yahodyn – Dorohusk, Krakovets – Korchova, Shehyny – Medyka. As of this morning, according to the information we have from the Polish border guards, almost 3,500 trucks are in line to cross into Ukraine,” Demchenko said on the air of the national telethon on Sunday.
The SBGS spokesman noted that the largest number of trucks is opposite the Shehyni checkpoint – 1,200, and the Yahodyn checkpoint – almost 900.
“Of course, during the day there is a certain movement of trucks both entering Ukraine and leaving Ukraine in the direction of Poland, but there is no dynamics and intensity that was before November 6,” added Demchenko.
As of Tuesday morning, November 17, approximately 2,400 trucks are waiting to leave Poland at three checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border – Yagodyn-Dorogusk, Krakovets-Korcheva, and Rava-Ruska-Krebenne, said Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS).
“Unfortunately, the blocking of traffic for trucks in three directions has been in place since November 6. As of this morning, there are about 2,400 trucks on the territory of Poland heading out of this country to Ukraine. Most of them are in front of the Yagodyn checkpoint – 1,100 trucks, the rest are heading towards the Krakovets and Rava-Ruska checkpoints,” he said on the air of the national telethon.
The speaker noted that the strikers let several vehicles pass in all directions in an hour.
“The only more or less intense traffic we see is at the Krakovets checkpoint, when trucks are traveling from Ukraine to Poland,” Demchenko said.
He added that in general, the number of vehicles waiting to cross the border from Poland to Ukraine has been at the level of 2400-2500 in recent days.
“At the same time, carriers are choosing other routes. For several days now, we have been observing a congestion of trucks opposite the Shehyni checkpoint. There are about 1,100 trucks there,” the State Border Guard Service said.
As reported, on November 6, Polish carriers began a blockade of freight traffic at three checkpoints: Korchova-Krakovets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Dorohusk-Yagodyn.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych said that the blockade of freight traffic towards the three checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border is a “painful stab in the back of Ukraine” and jeopardizes the “solidarity corridors” that carry Ukrainian grain to third countries.
Starting September 20, restrictions on the entry of trucks into the Ukrainian capital will be in effect during rush hours, the Kyiv City State Administration’s telegram channel reported on Monday.
The restrictions will be in effect in the morning from 7:00 to 10:00 and in the evening from 17:00 to 20:00 and will apply to trucks with a permitted maximum weight of more than 4.5 tons.
“The decision was made by the Kyiv City Defense Council to relieve the capital’s roads during rush hours. The Kyiv Patrol Police Department will monitor compliance with these restrictions,” the statement said.
