Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine, speaks at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Britain June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool
KYIV (Reuters) - Kyiv has urged Poland to punish those responsible for Ukrainian grain spills at the border over the weekend, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Monday.
Around 160 tons of Ukrainian grain was destroyed at a Polish railway station amid large-scale protests in what a senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday was an act of "impunity and irresponsibility".
"Those who have damaged Ukrainian grain must be found, neutralized, and punished. Two friendly civilized European states are interested in this," Kubrakov said on the social media platform X.
Polish farmers protesting this month over what they describe as unfair competition from Ukraine and European Union environment regulations have blocked border crossings with Ukraine as well as motorways, and deliberately spilled Ukrainian produce from train wagons.
Previous incidents of grain being spilled from trains took place on the border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday it was important for Ukraine to maintain close relations with Poland, but that Kyiv was also ready to defend businesses that have been hurt by border blockades by Polish protesters.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
