Polish Protestors Lift Blockade on All Ukrainian Checkpoints

Truck traffic resumed at the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne border crossing on Monday morning – the last one still blockaded by Polish farmers – potentially marking the end of the months-long protests that had brought unprecedented tension between the two nations.

According to an official announcement by the State Border Service of Ukraine (DPSU), truck registration and movement have resumed in either direction after 10:00 a.m.; a DPSU representative also told Ukrainska Pravda that all border checkpoints with Poland are currently unblocked.

However, “according to available information,” grain trucks can enter Poland only for transit from now on.

The protest started in February this year over what the Polish farmers called excessive competition from Ukrainian grain exports, caused by eased EU regulations to assist Ukraine’s economy following Russia’s invasion.

However, the dispute started simmering earlier – sometime in 2023, as detailed in a February Kyiv Post Op-ed.

A Kyiv Post investigation discovered a massive spike in Ukrainian imports in 2022 and 2023, though the numbers did return to pre-war levels following Warsaw’s unilateral ban, which started in April 2023, prior to the protest. However, Kyiv Post was unable to take into account the amount of grain supposedly in transit and subsequently returned to Poland.

The protest restricted truck traffic on numerous border crossings between the two nations, which affected rail and passenger traffic at times and led to sporadic confrontations between Poles and Ukrainians, where grain was spilled on roads and railway tracks.

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In recent months, Polish and Ukrainian officials have tried to de-escalate the crisis through dialogues, with the EU finally relenting and agreeing to impose tougher, high-level restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports in its bid to maintain solidarity with Kyiv while appeasing demands from the agricultural sector at home.