- A border blockade by Polish truck drivers is preventing essential equipment from reaching Ukraine.
- The blockade is a protest against Ukrainian competitors who can offer lower prices.
- One Ukrainian driver told the FT that it was “as if people forgot our war.”
A month-long border blockade by Polish truck drivers is causing severe disruptions to crucial supplies for Ukraine’s military, The Associated Press reported.
Ukrainian charities and companies are now warning that the situation could worsen as the blockade persists, as it is delaying the delivery of essential battlefield items such as pickup trucks, tourniquets, and parts for drones.
The blockade, which began on November 6, had already led to lines stretching over 18 miles at border crossings, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for the restoration of Ukraine, said, per Reuters.
“For over 10 days, Ukrainian drivers have been blocked at the Polish border. Thousands of people are forced to live in difficult conditions with limited food, water and fuel,” Kubrakov wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on November 19.
The situation is now taking its toll on Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities, with drone deliveries pushed back by two to three weeks, Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, a director at the KOLO foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army with tech, told The AP.
“This means that the Russian army will have the ability to kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer,” he said.
Ivan Poberzhniak, the head of procurement and logistics for Come Back Alive, a charity that helps the Ukrainian military, said “deliveries have practically stopped” at the border, leaving around 200 pickup trucks — needed to carry injured soldiers or ammunition — and 3,000 tourniquets stranded.
The blockade started after Polish truck drivers took issue with Ukrainian truckers, who they say have been offering lower prices for deliveries around the European Union thanks to a temporary waiver they received on transport rules following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
One Ukrainian driver, Petro Darichuk, told the Financial Times that it was “as if people forgot our war and think again only about making more money.”
A potential solution to the problem could come from Poland’s new government, which is expected to be in office next week and will likely be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. Many in Europe are hopeful that Tusk will reinvent Poland’s relationship with the EU, which has faltered in recent years.
“We will look for solutions that should satisfy Polish transporters, but we will not tolerate any events that threaten Polish security. Who inspired or initiated them?” Tusk said, per The AP.
