Polish transport strike indirectly affects Ukraine — MP on border blockade

She said this on Espreso TV.

"This is a Polish strike on Polish territory, and the Ukrainian state has suffered indirectly here. This should have been resolved in advance, in fact, everyone was aware of this strike, that it would occur, and we should have held preventive talks, we should have sat down with the Polish government and started negotiations on how to solve this problem," the Ukrainian MP said.

Klymenko stressed that Ukraine's business and the citizens themselves would suffer greatly, as goods are delivered by road, and the cost of transporting goods would increase. 

"Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed urgently. We in the Parliament have prepared an appeal to our colleagues in the Polish Parliament, whose first meeting in the new composition will take place on 13 November, and we will promote this at the political level, at the level of parliamentarians to parliamentarians," she stressed.

The MP concludes that the primary role in resolving this issue should be assumed by the executive branch, specifically the government.

"I think that we need to “take the crown off” our Government and sit down at the negotiating table with our colleagues from Poland and start looking for a way out, otherwise both Ukrainians and businesses will suffer. We definitely do not need this now," Klymenko added.

Strikes on the border between Poland and Ukraine

Polish carriers were reportedly set to go on strike at the border. The reason is excessive competition after the liberalisation of international transport between Ukraine and the EU.

In this regard, the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine initiated a meeting with Poland and the European Commission. The State Border Guard Service has also commented on the possible blocking of the border.

In addition, Ukraine sent an official note to Poland over the intention of Polish carriers to go on strike at the Ukrainian-Polish border.

On 6 November, Polish carriers went on strike at the Polish-Ukrainian border. As a result, traffic for trucks has been hampered.

Today it became known that Polish carriers are blocking three checkpoints: Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Jagodzin.