Polish truck drivers are blocking the border with Ukraine. It is hurting on the battlefield

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KORCZOWA, Poland (AP) — Pickup vans and tourniquets sure for Ukraine’s battlefield are caught in a mileslong line on the border with Poland. Parts to construct drones to combat off Russian forces are going through weeks of delays.

Ukrainian charities and corporations supplying the war-torn nation’s army warn that issues are rising as Polish truck drivers present no signal of ending a border blockade that has stretched previous a month. The Polish protesters argue that their livelihoods are at stake after the European Union relaxed some transport guidelines and Ukrainian truckers undercut their enterprise.

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Whereas drones will make it to the entrance line, they’re delayed by two to 3 weeks, stated Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, operational director of the KOLO basis, which helps the Ukrainian military with battlefield tech, together with drones and communications gear.

“Which means Russian military may have the flexibility to kill Ukrainian troopers and terrorize civilians for a number of weeks longer,” he stated.

Truck drivers in Poland have blocked entry roads to frame crossings since Nov. 6, creating traces that stretch for greater than 30 kilometers (19 miles) and last as long as three weeks in freezing temperatures. The protesters insist that they’re not stopping army transports or humanitarian assist into Ukraine.

“That is very puzzling to me, even exhausting to consider as a result of all people is aware of — those that order, those that expedite and those that do the transport — that assist for the army passes via with out having to attend in any respect,” stated Waldemar Jaszczur, a protest organizer.

The Polish truckers, in the meantime, say their Ukrainian counterparts are providing decrease costs to haul all the things from fish to luxurious items throughout the European Union since getting a brief waiver on the 27-nation bloc’s transport guidelines after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

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Regardless of Poland and different close by nations being a few of Ukraine’s largest supporters within the struggle, resentment has constructed from truckers and farmers who’re dropping enterprise to lower-cost Ukrainian items and companies flowing into the world’s largest buying and selling bloc. It underscores the challenges of integrating Ukraine into the EU if authorised.

Now, the business conflict is spilling over to the battlefield, the Ukrainian charities say.

About 200 pickup vans wanted to move ammunition and evacuate the wounded from the entrance line are blocked on the border as a result of “deliveries have virtually stopped,” stated Ivan Poberzhniak, head of procurement and logistics for Come Again Alive, Ukraine’s largest charitable group offering the army with gear.

The pickup vans are simple targets for Russia, so it’s not possible to ship sufficient of them even usually, he stated.

When drivers present paperwork to the Polish truckers saying the automobiles are for Ukraine’s army, “it doesn’t have a major influence on the protesters,” Poberzhniak stated.

“We should perceive that in wartime, provide is required each day in all instructions,” he stated.

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Come Again Alive says 3,000 tourniquets are also caught on the border. It’s been in a position to ship drones, mills and batteries from what it has in inventory, “however that reserve is working out,” Poberzhniak stated.

The group is exploring various provide routes, he says, however there are few choices, and the army’s unfulfilled requests for gear are increase.

The protesting truckers assert that not all deliveries declared as army assist are actually that. They’re urging the EU to reinstate the boundaries on the variety of Ukrainian vans that may enter the bloc.

Jaszczur, an organizer, stated Ukrainian truckers have been doing unauthorized transport companies throughout Europe. They’re asking “obviously low costs” — 35% decrease than what Polish truckers cost — and are “driving us out of the market,” he stated.

The identical factor is going on in different nations like Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, he stated. Some Slovak truckers staged a protest of their very own in latest days on the Ukrainian border.

Jaszczur says many Polish transport corporations are going beneath due to the stress from Ukrainian competitors.

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Whereas there is no such thing as a fast decision in sight, a change of management in Warsaw affords hope.

The brand new authorities is predicted to be in place within the subsequent week and nearly definitely can be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. He has criticized the outgoing authorities’s “inaction,” providing hope to companies damage by the blockade but in addition to the protesters.

“We are going to search for options that ought to fulfill Polish transporters, however we is not going to tolerate any occasions that threaten Polish safety. Who impressed or initiated them?” Tusk stated Friday, stressing that Ukraine is a strategic level for Poland because it fights Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian truck driver Ivan Itchenko is a kind of eagerly awaiting a decision. He has been ready in Poland for days with a whole lot of others, attempting to remain heat at a freeway relaxation cease till he can carry his load of salmon and herring to Ukrainian supermarkets.

“I clear the truck, clear the snow. Polish customs officers come and ask for paperwork 3 times a day,” Itchenko stated Thursday.

The 61-year-old hopes his flip to drive via the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing comes Saturday.

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“I reside in Chernihiv (area), close to Russia. Every single day there are assaults. Now I’m caught on the Polish border. What do they need?”

With temperatures falling, drivers are experiencing tough situations, selecting to not warmth their vans to save lots of gasoline and going through restricted entry to meals and bogs, Ukrainian media say.

Polish and Ukrainian officers are negotiating with assist from the European Fee, the EU’s government department, however the protest has solely expanded.

“We don’t see any gentle within the tunnel, we don’t see any authorities, any authorities or the EU Fee actually giving consideration to this,” stated Dariusz Matulewicz, head of the truckers’ affiliation in Szczecin, a metropolis in western Poland.

Poland’s outgoing authorities has “nothing in opposition to supporting Ukraine” but it surely “should not permit the help exercise to be carried out on the expense of Polish companies,” deputy minister for infrastructure, Rafal Weber, stated Monday in Brussels.

The EU has pressed Warsaw to discover a approach to finish the blockade however stood by its cope with Kyiv. It’s “helpful to the European market, to Ukraine and to Moldova,” stated Adina Valean, EU transport commissioner who additionally threatened sanctions in opposition to Poland.

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Ukrainian officers say the truckers’ protest provides extra stress to their financial system and solely serves Russia’s pursuits.

Ukrainian exports have dropped by 40% via the 4 blocked border crossings, and the state finances has misplaced some 9.3 billion hryvnias ($252,000) as a result of shortfall in customs funds, stated Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the finance and tax committee in Ukraine’s parliament.

“Undoubtedly, it is a highly effective blow to our financial system and our exports,” Hetmantsev stated Tuesday on state TV.

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AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

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