Ukraine and Poland Agree on Border Strike Action Plan

Ukraine and Poland have agreed on an action plan to unblock border points between the two countries currently paralysed by the ongoing trucker strike.

The announcement comes after a meeting between Ukrainian Deputy Ministers Serhiy Derkach and Yuriy Vaskov, and Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Poland Pawel Gancarz on Friday.

A report of the meeting stated: “The key result of the meeting is the agreement on common positions to unblock the border.

“The parties reached an understanding on compromise solutions and their implementation.”

It added that the next stage will be negotiations at the level of the Polish ministry and the protesters.

The latest reports say there are currently 4,000 vehicles queued and waiting to cross the border.

The truckers have been blocking the border for over a month to demand the reintroduction of restrictions to enter the European Union for their Ukrainian competitors.

The bloc had waived the permits system after Russia invaded Ukraine, but the Polish road carriers say the move took a toll on their earnings.

Elsewhere on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told his Polish counterpart that Kyiv hoped the “unacceptable” blockade by Polish hauliers at their shared border would end soon.

“The first thing to do is to unblock the border, because the situation in which our friendly relations find themselves – in the shadow of the blocked border – is unacceptable and harmful,” Kuleba told his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski.

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The Polish foreign minister came to Kyiv on his first trip abroad since taking office, a move signalling the new Polish government's renewed support.

Kuleba praised the visit as a “sign of respect to Ukraine,” AFP reports.

Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest allies since Russia invaded. Relations soured ahead of Polish general elections in October, as the then-governing Law and Justice (PiS) party had lobbied for votes by leveraging fatigue over the conflict.

But Poland's new pro-EU government led by former European Council president Donald Tusk has pledged to double down on support for Ukraine and resolve the blockade.

“There is a feeling, an understanding that with this new Polish government and specifically (minister) Sikorski... there will be a very fruitful dialogue between Ukraine and Poland,” Kuleba said.