The consequences of the closure of border crossings by Polish truck drivers are increasingly being felt in Ukraine. Several companies supplying the Ukrainian military told the AP that their deliveries were delayed. Ukrainian charities are also facing problems.
For more than a month, Polish truck drivers have been blocking freight traffic at three border crossings into Ukraine. They are demonstrating against what they see as unfair competition from fellow Ukrainians. There are usually restrictions on entering the European Union from Ukraine, but Brussels temporarily lifted them shortly after the Russian invasion. Slovak bikers also started a blockade.
Although drivers agreed to allow the passage of military equipment and humanitarian aid, shortages are slowly beginning to appear in Ukraine. One supplier to the Ukrainian military tells the AP that drones take two to three weeks longer, for example, to reach the front. He added: “The Russian army can therefore kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer.”
According to relief organizations, hundreds of thousands of trucks carrying aid are currently stuck at the border. The director of Come Back Alive, the largest Ukrainian charity providing equipment to the Ukrainian army, said the blockade had “effectively halted” deliveries. Organizations are looking for alternative supply methods, but say the options are few.
Pippin is tall
Read also this analysis by Central and Eastern Europe correspondent Arnot Le Clercq: Blockade of Ukrainian shipping traffic casts a shadow over solidarity with neighboring countries in Central Europe
