Polish farmers resume protest at Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint: What's happening on border

Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint blocked again

"According to the information provided by Polish border guards, around 09:00 today, the blockade of traffic for freight vehicles resumed on the road in front of the Medyka checkpoint (Republic of Poland), adjacent to the Ukrainian checkpoint Shehyni," Demchenko said.

According to him, due to this, traffic complications are possible both leaving Poland and entering.

He also mentioned that there are currently about 800 trucks waiting to enter Ukraine on the Polish territory in this direction. At the same time, the organizers of such actions in Poland do not plan to obstruct the movement of buses and passenger vehicles.

"At the moment, Ukrainian border guards are taking measures to monitor the situation, clarify cooperation with Polish colleagues regarding the procedure for further passage of freight vehicles, and the categories of goods that will be allowed across the border," added Demchenko.

Border guards remind that the blockade of truck traffic at the Shehyni-Medyka checkpoint was suspended since December 24, 2023. During this time, about 300 trucks passed into Ukraine daily.

Polish media also confirm the blockade

At the same time, information has already appeared in Polish media that farmers from the association Oszukana Wieś (Deceived Village) have resumed the blockade at the Medyka checkpoint.

"We want to sign an agreement, a bilateral agreement, between the ministry and the farmers. If such an agreement is signed, the protest will be suspended as soon as possible," said the leader of the protesters, Roman Kondróv, as reported by Polsat News.

According to him, the protest will take a more stringent form this time - only one truck per hour will be allowed to pass from the queue.

At the same time, the strikers acknowledged that they were satisfied with the negotiations with the government, which was trying to persuade them to end the blockade.

"We are satisfied with the negotiations with the minister and the voivode. But it should be emphasized that regarding these negotiations at the border, only a working memorandum was created," said Kondróv.

The farmer noted that the protesters "expect specific written statements," so they resumed the protest.

What are the demands of Polish farmers

Yesterday, Polish farmers said they would resume the blockade of the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint on January 4 if they do not receive written guarantees regarding fulfilling their demands.

In particular, they demand subsidies for purchasing corn and leave the agricultural tax unchanged. The protesters' leader assured that "written guarantees will automatically end the blockade of the checkpoint."

In turn, the Polish government promised to try to convince the strikers to stop blocking the passage of trucks at the Ukraine border.

Which checkpoints are also blocked?

Recall that difficulties in truck traffic have continued at the checkpoints Krakivets-Korchova and Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne since November 6 of last year. As of this morning, 850 trucks are expected to enter Ukraine on these routes from the neighboring side.

It remains noteworthy that the fewest trucks are passing through the largest infrastructure route, Yahodyn-Dorohusk," as the State Border Guard Service spokesperson mentioned.

"In fact, over the past day, slightly more than 100 vehicles. There were even fewer in recent days. On some days, there may be more. But practically, this is a decrease by a factor of 10," Demchenko said."