Polish Farmers' Protest: Demonstrators Use Tractors To Block Much of Ukraine Border

Polish farmers used their tractors to block off much of the Ukraine border amid a grain row that is the result of cheap products flooding the market as well as EU regulations regarding pesticides and fertilizer usage.

The tractors were seen flying Polish flags as they blocked motorways and major junctions in nearly 200 different locations. The blockades are also taking place at several border crossings with Ukraine.

Polish Farmers Blockade Ukraine Border

In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the protests conducted by the Polish farmers demonstrated the "daily erosion of solidarity" with his nation. He added that the movement was more about politics and not grain. This is because only 5% of their agricultural exports pass through the Polish border.

Video footage that was shared on social media seemed to show grain that the farmers were spilling onto a train track that they took from a goods wagon at the Medyka crossing. Vasyl Zvarych, Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, said that the spilled grain was Ukrainian and then condemned the protesters' actions, as per BBC.

In his post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Zvarych said that law enforcement authorities should react decisively and punish the people who break the law. He noted that showed a lack of respect for the work that Ukrainian farmers had put in conditions of Russian aggression towards themselves as well as others.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, called the act a "political provocation aimed at dividing our nations." Lorry drivers from Ukraine said that they would retaliate and blockade Polish drivers at three crossings on their side of the border.

There are now long queues of lorries that can be seen at several border crossings following protests held in the last few months. Officials' efforts to clear customs at one crossing are now taking more than two weeks.

On Tuesday, protesters obstructed checkpoints for commercial transportation, stopping the passage of roughly 3,000 Ukrainian trucks and opening some train cars that contained Ukrainian grain to spill them on the tracks, according to the New York Times.

Protesting Over Cheap Grain

A spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Oleh Nikolenko, said that the protests in Poland "undermine Ukraine's economy and its resilience to repel Russian aggression." The Tuesday demonstrations echoed those held by other farmers across Europe in the past few months.

The protests lamented European Union environmental regulations and imports that the farmers said were making it difficult for them to earn a living. The issue that Polish farmers are expressing their anger with originated from Russia's restriction of Ukraine's sea shipments.

To ease price hikes and grain shortages in several parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, the EU suspended tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian food products. This was to carry as much food as possible by rail and truck through neighboring nations such as Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

Polish farmers drove their tractors through Gdansk, Krakow, and several other cities across the region as they honked their horns. They said that they would make their actions even more dramatic until their demands were met.

The protesters want Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government to withdraw Poland from the Green Deal. They are also demanding him to stop the import of agricultural products from Ukraine, said Aljazeera.