A 24-hour blockade of the Medyka border crossing, led by farmers, has started and is expected to continue daily until the end of the year. The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland has issued a comment regarding the protest.
Farmers from the Podkarpacie region in southern Poland staged a protest on National Road 28 near the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing in Medyka. They demanded partial relief from agricultural taxes.PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
Members of the Oszukana Wieś organization from Podkarpacie in southeastern Poland blocked National Road 28, barring Ukrainian trucks from entering the country while allowing only one truck per hour to leave.
Polish farmers block key border crossing near Ukraine
Passenger cars, buses, humanitarian aid, and military vehicles are unaffected. Around 30 farmers are participating, protesting the failure to maintain 2023 agricultural tax levels in 2024 and opposing the EU’s trade agreement with South American Mercosur countries.
Local police report no major disruptions so far.
Roman Kondrów from the Oszukana Wieś organization explained to Polish Radio that farmers are protesting to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to fulfill promises related to agriculture.
On Sunday, protesters are scheduled to meet with the Minister of Agriculture, Czesław Siekierski, to discuss these issues.
Ukrainian embassy slams border blockade as „painful paradox” on Holodomor Memorial Day
The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland commented on the border blockade by Polish farmers, calling it a painful paradox, especially on a day when Ukraine honors the victims of the Holodomor famine.
The embassy stressed that such actions harm both countries’ interests and play into the hands of those seeking to sow discord between Poles and Ukrainians. They urged solidarity and a joint search for solutions that consider both nations’ interests while honoring the painful history of both countries.
Ukraine commemorates Holodomor victims on Remembrance Day
As the president of Ukraine reminded through social media, the fourth Saturday of November marks the Day of Remembrance for the Holodomor victims, commemorating the deliberate famine orchestrated by the Soviet Union during the years 1921-1923, 1946-1947, and especially the darkest years of 1932-1933.
Source: IAR/PAP/X/@UKRinPL/@ZelenskyyUa
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