Polish farmers have blocked the railway and dumped grain from the wagons.

The Polish government has called for an end to the blockade and suggested a full embargo on agricultural goods from Ukraine. On the morning of February 20, Polish farmers intensified their protests near the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint, blocking the railway and spilling grain from a freight car onto the tracks. It should be noted that the grain wagon that was emptied by Polish protesters was transiting to Germany.

Polish protesters also tried to block the railway access tracks to the terminals at the Dorohusk and Hrubieszow border crossings.

The Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Czeslaw Siekierski, had called on farmers to negotiate the day before. He noted that his ministry wants to “develop a bilateral agreement with Ukraine that would extend market protection to other sensitive products”.

The Minister of Development of Poland, Krzysztof Hetman, a member of the Polish Peasant Party, allowed the introduction of an embargo on all agricultural products from Ukraine. He supported the protests and added that farmers are in a tough situation because “production costs have increased tremendously, but profitability has declined sharply.”