Polish Protesters at Ukraine Border Dump Grain from Ukrainian Trucks
As farmers continue to protest across Europe against the EU's policy of reducing the use of pesticides, Polish protesters at the Ukrainian-Polish border, at the Yagodyn-Dorogusk checkpoint, began to destroy Ukrainian trucks with grain and pour it onto the road.
Video of the incident was posted on social media, Ukrinform reports.
"Polish protesting farmers are trying to pour grain out of Ukrainian trucks at the Volyn checkpoint Yagodyn-Dorogusk," the post says.
As noted, Polish protesters used an electric saw to open several Ukrainian trucks, causing grain to spill onto the road. Although the perpetrators were recorded on video, the police took no action.
Ukraine's Trade Representative Taras Kachka believes that the Polish authorities should respond decisively to the actions of Polish farmers who spilled grain from Ukrainian trucks to prevent worse violent incidents.
The European Commission's recent proposal on the form of future trade liberalisation with Ukraine and the introduction of the Green Deal, to restrict the use of pesticides, did not meet the expectations of Polish farmers and led to the second nationwide farmers' strike in Poland in a month.
More than 250 protests took place across Poland.
The Green Deal has become a powerful flashpoint for farmers' protests across Europe, although the EU has already succumbed to the pressure of farmers' protests and cancelled its commitment to limit pesticides.
Despite this, European farmers' strikes continue. The first arrests took place during protests in Spain, and farmers also demonstrated in Portugal and Germany.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, on 9 February, Polish farmers began blocking roads across the country, as well as checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border. According to the organisers of the strike from the independent farmers' union Solidarity, the blocking of roads near checkpoints will last for a month, until 10 March.
In November 2023, Polish carriers began a blockade of truck traffic near the three largest checkpoints on the border with Ukraine: "Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yagodyn. Among the main demands is the return of the practice of permits for Ukrainian carriers, which was cancelled by the agreement with the European Union until 30 June 2024.