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Border Guard: Polish protesters lift blockade at Ukrainian border

by Kateryna Hodunova and The Kyiv Independent news desk April 29, 2024 11:51 AM 2 min read

Illustrative purposes only: Truck drivers queue for over ten kilometers at the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Polish border on April 18, 2023. (Yuriy DyachshynAFP via Getty Images)

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Editor's note: The article was updated after Ukraine's Border Guard Service confirmed that the blockade ended along the entire border.

Polish protesters had largely stopped their blockade at the Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska crossing point on April 29, Ukraine's Border Guard Service reported.

This effectively means that the blockade along the entire Polish-Ukrainian border had been lifted, the Border Guard confirmed for Ukrainska Pravda.

Trucks carrying grain to Poland would still not be allowed passage through Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, except for those transiting to other countries, according to the Border Guard's statement. Regarding other trucks and cargo, the traffic had resumed directions as of 10 a.m. local time.

The farmers began blocking trucks at several border crossings in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal.

On April 22, Polish protesters ended their blockade at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing, resuming traffic in both directions.

The blockade has led to deteriorating relations between Kyiv and Warsaw. Protestors spilled Ukrainian grain on several occasions, sparking outrage in Ukraine.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Poland on March 28 to meet with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, and discuss agricultural trade between the two countries. The two officials agreed to search for "mutually satisfactory solutions," such as a verification and control system for trade in agricultural goods.

Tusk also called on Polish farmers to stop blocking the border with Ukraine on April 18.

Earlier, the Polish prime minister said that Warsaw was considering expanding the list of banned Ukrainian goods to "protect the EU's market and the local manufacturers."

Authors: Kateryna Hodunova, The Kyiv Independent news desk

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