FILE PHOTO: A truck driver from Ukraine waves from his truck roof while waiting in a long queue to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin crossing, in Okopy, Poland, December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki/File Photo
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Monday that protesting Polish drivers had lifted a blockade at a Ukrainian-Polish border crossing and that the first lorries were passing through on their way into Ukraine.
Protests by Polish truckers started last month against the terms of EU access for Ukrainian lorries. They blocked the main land corridors into Ukraine, leading to higher prices for fuel and some food items as well as delays to drone deliveries to the Ukrainian army.
"The blockade of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing is over. Stable truck traffic has been restored since 14:00," Kurakov said on Facebook.
"Fifteen vehicles have crossed into Ukraine and are now at the crossing. In addition, 25 trucks are being cleared to head towards Poland," he said.
However, Tomasz Borkowski, leader of the Polish Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers said that there was no agreement on ending a blockade at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing.
Ukrainian authorities say about 3,500 lorries are blocked on the Polish side of the Polish-Ukrainian border as of Sunday morning.
The main demand of Polish hauliers is to stop Ukrainian truckers from having permit-free access to the European Union, something that Kyiv and Brussels say is not negotiable.
"We held dozens of meetings and negotiations at all possible levels. It was a difficult job, but it is not over yet. The border must be fully unblocked, and further blockages will not be allowed," Kubrakov said.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Max Hunder, additional reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Editing by Louise Heavens)
