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Polish farmers hold another Ukraine border blockade amid heightened tensions

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Polish farmers hold another Ukraine border blockade amid heightened tensions
Illustrative purposes only: Polish farmers in their tractors stand on the S17 highway connecting Warsaw to Lublin during a blockade protest on Feb. 20, 2024, in Lublin, Poland. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)

Editor's note: The article was updated after the protests concluded.

Polish protesters briefly blocked truck traffic at the Polish side of the Medyka-Shehyni border checkpoint with Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service announced on Sept. 6.

The protest began at 12:50 p.m. Kyiv time and was initially expected to last at least six hours. Nevertheless, the demonstration ended by 3:30 p.m., Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Ukrainska Pravda.

The news comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries as Poland's new president, Karol Nawrocki, has taken a harder stance toward Kyiv than his predecessor, Andrzej Duda.

The rally took place roughly 1 kilometer from the Polish side of the checkpoint, with 681 trucks queuing up to enter Poland, the Border Guard said earlier. Passenger cars and buses were allowed to pass without restrictions.

The event was launched by Polish farmers in response to low grain prices, difficulties in selling their produce, and the EU's trade agreement with the South American group Mercosur. The participants presented the protest as an urgent appeal to the Polish government and Brussels to intervene.

Polish farmers and truckers have repeatedly blocked traffic at the Poland-Ukraine border since 2023, protesting the influx of Ukrainian goods and labor force after Brussels eased trade rules with Kyiv in response to Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The protests have strained Ukraine's relations with Poland, which has otherwise been a crucial ally during the war.

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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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