Amid conflicting reports that Polish protesters had blocked passenger buses from crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border, Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych said on March 11 that the consul in Lublin would visit the Dorohusk crossing to observe the situation firsthand.
Zvarych also said that the movement of passengers across the border should be able to continue without any unnecessary obstacles.
The protesters, led by Polish farmers, claim that the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products is of poor quality and undermines local businesses amid rising costs across Europe. They also oppose the EU's Green Deal policies.
Protesters began blocking border crossings with Ukraine in early February following a series of intermittent protests led by Polish truckers that began in November 2023.
Humanitarian aid and passenger vehicles have historically been exempt from the blockade, which Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, repeated on March 9.
Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said earlier on March 11 that "protesters and police are stopping buses going to and from Poland. Passengers are being held without any explanation."
Demchenko then said later in the day that the border service had not received any reports from the Polish side that protesters were preventing the passage of buses, but added that it "cannot be excluded that the passage of buses through these blockades may be difficult."
The Kyiv Independent also reported last month that some trucks carrying humanitarian and military aid were stuck in queues for days.
The ongoing dispute has led to deteriorating relations between Kyiv and Warsaw. Protesters spilled Ukrainian grain on several occasions, sparking outrage in Ukraine.
