Polish Consul General apologizes to Ukrainians for ‘shame and disgrace’ at blocked border
The Consul General of Poland in Lviv, Eliza Dzwonkiewicz, apologized to Ukrainians for the actions of her compatriots at the Polish-Ukrainian border in her Feb. 20 Facebook post.
"I can no longer remain silent. Out of love for my country,” she wrote.
“I cannot pretend not to see these shameful actions of Poland on the Polish-Ukrainian border. I am sorry, my dear Ukrainian friends. What is happening cannot be done by my people."
A true Pole would never stab a neighbor fighting for freedom.
"This is not about posturing, but about a form of protest. It is shameful and disgraceful."
At a Polish farmers’ protest Ukrainian grain imports on Feb. 20, one participant drove up in a tractor with a banner asking Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to “handle” Ukraine, Brussels, and Poland’s own government. Polish police are now investigating the incident.
“Putin, handle Ukraine, Brussels, and our government,” the spray-painted message said.
Protesters began to restrict traffic on the border with Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service reported on Feb. 20. Truck traffic was blocked at the Medyka-Shehyni, Dolhobyczów-Uhryniv, Zosin-Ustyluh, Korczowa-Krakivets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoints.
Polish protesters also blocked the railroad near the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint and spilled grain out of railroad cars on Feb. 20.
In response to the actions of the Poles, Ukrainian carriers began a protest at three checkpoints on the border with Poland on Feb. 20: Rava-Ruska, Shehyni, and Krakivets.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that the blocking of the border by the Poles has no justification, no matter what their slogans are. In turn, Polish Minister of Economic Development and Technology Krzysztof Hetman said he supports the farmers who are "protesting for a worthy cause."
The total number of blocked trucks in queues at Polish-Ukrainian border crossing points due to the protest of Polish farmers reached more than 2,500, the State Border Guard Service reported on the afternoon of Feb. 20.
Negotiations between Kyiv and Warsaw on regulating the imports of Ukrainian agricultural products are in final stages, Sekerski said during a meeting with Polish farmers who are blockading the Ukrainian border on Feb. 15.
The protesters put forward many demands, including two main ones: the abolition of duty-free trade with Ukraine and the complete closure of the Ukrainian-Polish border for trucks.
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