The main problem of Polish farmers is the export of grain and food from Russia and Belarus. Blocking the border itself is pointless, as more than 90% of exports go by sea. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a press conference, an LB.ua correspondent reports.
"Blocking the border by Polish farmers is pointless. Because 90% of our exports go by sea or through the Danube ports. Less than 5% goes by road," he said.
The Prime Minister reminded that the Ukrainian government had offered Poland five clear steps to resolve the blockade.
"The Polish government is considering them, some of them are already in the communication of the Polish government and the Polish Prime Minister. I hope that Polish farmers will also understand the statistics and the reasons for their troubles, which we directly attribute to the export of grain and food from Russia and Belarus," he added.
"We insist and included this in one of the five points. Namely, the need to stop such trade for the EU countries and Poland in particular," Shmyhal stressed.
He noted that despite the protests of Polish carriers and farmers, there have been no cases of blocking the supply of weapons, military equipment, humanitarian aid and fuel to Ukraine.
"This means that all these cargoes are going to Ukraine unhindered, and this is important to avoid manipulation. That is why the cases that are again being reported in telegram channels are being exaggerated there, these are not military equipment, these are commercial vehicles... It is therefore important that no official cargo, which is officially registered as military or humanitarian support, has been detained," Shmyhal said.
He reminded us that an election campaign has begun in Poland, where the issue of blocking the border is also being used.
"But Ukraine is bleeding, and farmers who lose their lives, equipment, and their land are probably suffering no less than farmers in neighbouring countries. That is why it is important to maintain the balance of morality," he urged.
He assured that since the government adopted a resolution on 16 September last year, not a single tonne of Ukrainian grain and four groups of goods has entered or been supplied to Poland.
"All groups of goods are in transit through Poland. I believe that manipulations about something entering Lithuania and then leaving are impossible, and my colleague, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrid Šemoniti, said this... Unfortunately, there are exports from Belarus and Russia, in particular through Poland. And this is something we should pay attention to," Shmyhal said.
The Prime Minister hopes that the crisis will be resolved on 28 March.
"Unfortunately, the issue of resolving this crisis is not on our side. It is on the side of Poland, Polish farmers, carriers, the Polish government, and Polish society," he said.
Meanwhile, Polish farmers continue to block all six checkpoints on the border with Ukraine.