Trucks wait for crossing the Ukraine-Poland border, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, at the checkpoint Rava-Ruska, Lviv region, Ukraine April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
WARSAW, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Polish truckers blocked roads to three border crossings with Ukraine on Monday, authorities said, to protest against what they see as government inaction over a loss of business to foreign competitors during Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Truckers from Ukraine have been exempt from seeking permits to cross the Polish border since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and firms from Russia and Belarus have been setting up Polish entities, the Polish truckers say.
Their demands include reimposing restrictions on the number of Ukraine-registered trucks entering Poland and a ban on transport companies with capital from outside the European Union, among others.
“We are protesting because of the disruptions in road transport to Polish carriers … caused by the uncontrolled inflow of Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian companies … those with eastern capital,” Karol Rychlik, a transport company owner and head of a trucker association said while protesting near the Dorohusk crossing.
