Who and why started another blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border

On February 20, massive protests by local farmers have begun across Poland, the main demand of which was to re-impose import restrictions on agricultural goods imported from Ukraine. In the morning of the same day, the Poles blocked the railway connection near the Medyka-Szegini checkpoint, stopped a freight train and poured some Ukrainian grain onto the railroad.

Similar behavior by Polish farmers has already outraged Ukrainian society. On February 11, they carried out a similar action, though then they dumped grain on the highway from three Ukrainian trucks. Even the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reacted to this act.

"Ukrainian grain on the asphalt is not just a few dramatic shots. This is a testament to how emotions can become dangerous", - Zelensky said.

He stressed that Polish protest organizers should have focused on russian grain imports, as this figure has reached more than 12 million tons since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

"We must always agree with each other - Ukrainians and Poles - so that our common enemy in moscow could not turn conflicts in our borderland against the economy, borders, and sovereignty of each of us", - the Ukrainian president said.

After such a statement by the head of our state, the Polish authorities had to apologize for their citizens, and Polish Minister of Agriculture Czeslaw Sekerski promised that Ukraine and Poland would find a compromise by February 20. Moreover, Ukrainian carriers had lost their patience. They began blocking the border on the Ukrainian side, targeting only Polish trucks.

"Either everyone is standing or everyone is driving. There can't be a situation where Ukrainian trucks are stopped and Polish trucks will go. We understand the situation with what they want. But all the demands of the Poles are either to the European Union or to their government, and there are no claims or demands to Ukraine, so this is a very strange situation. People are very determined, they will stand around the clock", - said Volodymyr Mykhalevych, Chairman of the NGO International Road Carriers of Ukraine.

The most amusing thing about this situation is that the Ukrainian side really cannot fulfill the demands of Polish farmers. The Ukrainian authorities have no influence on the EU authorities responsible for import quotas.

By the way, these import quotas were canceled for our country after the full-scale invasion of russian troops into Ukraine. It was an act of solidarity with Ukraine to stimulate Ukrainian exports and support the economy affected by the war unleashed by russia.

So, what has changed now?

Polish people say that their farming production suffers because of the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, as Ukrainian products are much cheaper. They say that this leads to the bankruptcy of Polish farming, economic decline, and unemployment in rural areas.

True, even the organizers of the protests have not been able to name the exact number of damages and express at least some reasonable demands to Ukraine. However, the border is blocked with Ukraine.

By the way, these same Polish farmers miss the point that Ukrainian products are much better than any European analog, which is recognized in the European Union itself. And this is how the market works: if you produce top-quality products and sell them cheaper than your competitors, there will be much higher demand for your product. This is called capitalism.

Secondly, is the war in Ukraine over? No! So why is Poland, which has sheltered more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees since February 24, now hindering our efforts? There are local elections ahead. In September-October 2023, the Polish-Ukrainian border was also one of the hottest spots. There were constant blockades and blocking of checkpoints by Poles. At the time, the Ukrainian government, of course, reacted to this, but hoped that after the national elections on October 17, everything would improve. That was the case for some time, until in mid-January, the newly elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the date of the local government elections. They will be held on April 7, 2024.

After that, the protests resumed, and Ukrainian grain scattered somewhere on the roads and Polish railways became a common sight. Many experts argue that this is how some political parties, especially those from agrarian regions, gain additional support among the population. And it seems that everything should be over as soon as these elections are over.

But should Ukrainian exports suffer because of the internal political situation in the neighboring country? Probably not. We are already at war with a sub-empire, which, unable to resolve its internal affairs, decided to find an external "enemy" in the form of "neo-Nazis".

Perhaps the Poles should think about who they are playing along with and how important it is to maintain good relations with Ukrainians now. Today, in Ukrainian society, Poles are perceived as very close friends who helped their neighbor in the most difficult time in its recent history. However, such meaningless grain provocations and demands that have nothing to do with the Ukrainian leadership can lead to a significant deterioration in interethnic relations. And the blocking of the border on the Ukrainian side is just the first call.