Ukraine sends note to Polish Foreign Ministry over death of second driver at border

This was announced by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Zvarych, Espreso reports.

In connection with the death of the second Ukrainian person, who was driving a Ukrainian truck and was in a queue caused by a strike of Polish carriers in front of the Korczowa checkpoint, the Embassy urgently addressed another official note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, demanding to unblock the movement of trucks. The relevant signals have also been conveyed to the Ministry of the Interior and the Polish administration, said Vasyl Zvarych.

"The restriction of freight traffic by Polish protesters poses a threat to human life and health, causes a significant threat to safety and traffic on public roads, and therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the Republic of Poland on Assemblies, provides direct grounds for the dissolution of the strike by a representative of the local authority that issued the permit for its holding. We call on the Polish authorities to take decisive action to unblock the traffic and prevent Ukrainian, Polish and foreign truck drivers from standing in queues for many kilometers without proper conditions - becoming hostages to the actions of the protest organizers," the diplomat stressed.

The death of the second driver

Earlier, the vice-president of the Association of International Road Carriers, Volodymyr Balin, reported on the death of the second driver.

"This morning we received information that a driver died last night in Korczowa at a car park. Unfortunately, this is the second fatality since the beginning of the blockade. I understand that most likely it is due to physiology, but one way or another, the stress they are getting because of this strike, because they have to live in trucks and it is not clear when they will be able to get to Ukraine, adds to the negative and causes certain situations. It's up to the doctors and law enforcement agencies to deal with it, but it's a fact," he said.

Balin also noted that the deceased driver had a car with Kharkiv license plates. 

As it was reported earlier, on November 11, a Ukrainian truck driver who was planning to cross the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint died in his truck. 

Strikes on the border between Poland and Ukraine

Strikes have erupted on the Poland-Ukraine border due to increased competition following the opening of international transportation between Ukraine and EU nations. To address this, the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development initiated talks with Poland and the European Commission.

Responding to the potential border blockage, the State Border Guard Service provided comments, and Ukraine formally communicated its concerns to Poland regarding the planned strike by Polish carriers at the Ukrainian-Polish border.

On November 6, Polish carriers initiated a strike at the border. The Ministry of Infrastructure noted that no official demands had been submitted by the Polish carriers to Kyiv.

By the evening of November 7, Polish carriers had fully halted the movement of cargo vehicles at two border checkpoints with Ukraine.

Subsequently, it was revealed that trucks are facing up to a 90-hour wait to enter Ukraine.

On November 9, a meeting of government officials and carriers blocking the border with Ukraine took place in Poland, but it concluded without any resolution. Simultaneously, the lines of trucks are growing longer. Consequently, Ukraine has suggested to the Polish authorities the initiation of lanes for empty trucks and is currently awaiting their response.

On November 15, trilateral talks with Poland and the European Commission on unblocking the crossing points took place, but they did not yield any results. Instead, the European Commission may initiate measures against Poland if the authorities do not resolve the issue of carriers blocking checkpoints on the border with Ukraine.

Polish carriers have promised to tighten the blockade on the border with Ukraine. In addition, customs officers have begun to record an increase in truck queues in the Slovak direction.

Ukraine and Poland are preparing claims for damages caused by the blockade of border crossing points due to the rally of Polish carriers. In addition, it has been reported that Polish carriers are not allowing humanitarian aid and dangerous goods to pass through.