Ukraine will evacuate drivers stuck on the Polish border at will

The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development has started collecting data for the further evacuation of Ukrainian drivers from the Polish border, where Polish carriers are blocking truck traffic. Deputy Minister Serhiy Derkach announced this on his Facebook page.

“We have already run out of time to agree on compromises. Now our drivers are suffering in sub-zero temperatures from the actions of a few people who have blocked the border with the consent of local authorities. We have repeatedly raised issues at the working and official levels regarding food, ambulances, fire trucks, proper sanitary conditions – all of this is missing,” the official said.

According to him, the Ukrainian side sees reports of approval of the continuation of the protest by the local authorities, so it announces that it will “take out everyone” who expresses such a desire. The registration form is available here.

In addition, Ukraine is initiating the creation of a monitoring group at the border on the part of the European Union, offering to officially record the situation at the checkpoints.

In particular, such a group could monitor whether dangerous goods are being allowed through, how humanitarian aid is crossing the border, and most importantly, what conditions Ukrainian drivers have been experiencing for more than two weeks. An official letter with this proposal has already been sent.

“Over the past three weeks, the issue of the blockade has been raised at all possible levels: dozens of letters and meetings. We have proposed a number of compromises, and the Polish government and the European Commission are aware of them. But it is possible to agree on something only if there is a desire to negotiate, not just a desire to block the border,” Derkach added.

Earlier, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine and the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine took the initiative to send representatives of the Red Cross and rescuers to the Polish-Ukrainian border because of the health threat to Ukrainian drivers.

In turn, the Ukrainian embassy sent a request to the Polish authorities to intervene in the situation by taking “decisive action to unblock” the checkpoints, in part because the restriction of truck traffic by Polish protesters poses a threat to the lives and health of people waiting in lines. The reason for sending the note to the Polish Foreign Ministry was the death of the second Ukrainian driver waiting to cross the border on its territory.

Tags: Ukraine, Poland, protests, restrictions