All six checkpoints at the Ukrainian-Polish border remain blocked due to the ongoing Polish farmers’ protests, State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on March 3 on national television.
Polish farmers started a new wave of protests in February in response to Ukrainian agricultural imports and the disagreement over the EU's Green Deal.
The ongoing protests continue to threaten Ukraine-Poland relations, as some protestors dumped Ukrainian crops and displayed anti-Ukrainian slogans.
The longest lines are at the Korczowa-Krakovets and Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossings, according to Demchenko. In total, around 2,400 trucks had been waiting to pass the border in all six directions as of March 3, Demchenko added.
The trucks with humanitarian aid are the only ones to be passed, the spokesperson said.
"Only trucks which go in the direction of Ukraine are let through. Over the past day (March 2), only 70 of them were there. None of the trucks cross the border in the Polish direction instead, as they are not allowed to pass," Demchenko said.
State Border Guard spokesperson said that the busses and passenger cars are still allowed to cross the border in every direction.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Feb. 28 that Poland leads talks with Ukraine on the possibility of a temporary closure of their mutual border for trade, calling this decision "painful for both parties."
Kyiv denied Tusk's claims about talks on temporarily shutting down the border.
According to Taras Kachka, Ukraine's deputy economy minister, the negotiating teams were "able to find a common language and are working on a constructive solution to unblock the border while taking into account the interests of Polish and Ukrainian farmers."
Warsaw has restricted Ukrainian grain imports since April 15 while allowing the shipment of grain to other countries via Poland.
Tusk said that Ukrainian goods "pose a threat" to the Polish economy as there are "no standards for them as there are for EU and Polish farmers."
(Updated: )
