Latest news with #Ukrainian-Polish
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Polish protesters end blockade at Ukraine's border after court ruling
Polish truckers lifted the blockade at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 13. The protesters ended the blockade after the Lublin Court of Appeal upheld Dorohusk Mayor Wojciech Sawa's decision to ban the rallies on May 8. The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement. Polish truckers started protests at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on May 12 at 4 p.m. local time. The protesters limited truck passage through the largest cargo customs post on the Ukrainian-Polish border to one vehicle per hour in each direction. Overnight on May 13, the Yahodyn customs post processed only eight trucks. Gasoline and gas tankers were allowed to pass along with other trucks, one truck per hour. Some trucks have been waiting in line for over a day, Ukraine's State Border Guard said. The organizers presented the latest protest as an effort to draw attention to the "plight of transport companies and the threat to thousands of jobs." Over the past few years, Polish truckers, farmers, and other protesters have launched months-long blockades at the Polish-Ukrainian border, largely aimed against Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's lifting of most duties on Ukrainian imports in 2022. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poles still block Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, hauliers choose other routes
The Polish hauliers' blockade of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint continues, causing many hauliers in the queue to turn back and take other routes. Source: State Customs Service of Ukraine on the morning of 13 May Details: During the night shift on the night of 12-13 May, the Yahodyn checkpoint, due to the ongoing blockade by Polish hauliers, cleared only eight lorries for departure from Ukraine, while 205 were cleared for entry. Quote: "Many hauliers are leaving the e-queue for crossing the border through Yahodyn, choosing other checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border. The electronic queue, which yesterday numbered 1,391 vehicles, has almost halved and as of this morning stands at 789 empty or loaded vehicles." More details: Hauliers are no longer joining the live queue to enter Ukraine. Background: Polish hauliers began their blockade at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint at 16:00 on 12 May, stating that they would allow one lorry per hour to enter and one to exit. Buses and lorries carrying humanitarian aid will be allowed to pass unhindered. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine warned that similar actions by Polish hauliers are possible over the next few months. On 10 April, it was announced that Ukraine's transport visa-free regime with the EU had been extended until the end of 2025. This mechanism gives Ukrainian hauliers the right to operate commercial transports to the EU under a simplified scheme, without the quotas and individual permits that were previously in place. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'I'm full of anger' — Ukraine awakes to a nightmare as US freezes military aid
Even in a country grimly accustomed to negative news, the headlines that Ukraine woke up to on March 4 still came as a shock — the U.S. is freezing military aid. "It hurts to watch it unfolding," Volodymyr Dubovyk, the head of Odesa National University's Center for International Studies, told the Kyiv Independent. "We can scrap everything that we previously knew about U.S. foreign policy." U.S. President Donald Trump on March 3 reportedly ordered a suspension of all military aid to Ukraine, with a senior Defense Department official telling Bloomberg it is on hold until Trump determines that Ukrainian leaders are making a genuine effort toward peace. Neither Washington nor Kyiv have officially confirmed the freeze. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the reports the Polish government gets from the Ukrainian-Polish border confirm the freeze. The move is the latest from the White House as it escalates pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky, just days after a heated exchange in the Oval Office cast doubt on U.S. support for Kyiv, and ended in the canceling of a planned mineral deal between the two countries. The Trump administration's strong arm tactics against Zelensky are being felt especially painfully in Ukraine as the Kremlin appears to be getting a free ride from a White House which — by the Kremlin's own admission — is now largely aligned with Russia's interests. "It looks as if Trump is trying to cut a deal with Russia at the cost of the weaker party, which is Ukraine," Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker and chair of the parliament's foreign affairs policy, told the Kyiv Independent. "I don't see that Trump is using leverage against the aggressor, he is using leverage against the victim of the aggression. To stop military aid to Ukraine right now means to help Russia kill Ukrainians with impunity." Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support us Trump has long-promised he could swiftly end the war in Ukraine as soon as he took office, though his original pledge of "24 hours" was amended to "100 days" shortly before his inauguration. During his first week in office, Trump appeared to come out on the side of Ukraine, putting the onus on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and threatening "high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions" if he didn't "make a deal." But in the weeks since, and after a phone call between Trump and Putin, the rhetoric coming from the White House towards Ukraine has been increasingly hostile and has, at times, resembled that coming from the Kremlin. Trump has described Zelensky as a "dictator" and questioned his legitimacy, with some Republican lawmakers this week calling for him to resign. Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, lawmaker for the Holos (Voice) party, told the Kyiv Independent that even though the tone has changed, he believes Trump's more recent actions still align with his original stated goal of ending the war swiftly — but regardless of the cost for Ukraine. "I think that it's a continuation of Trump's policy to end the war as soon as possible by effectively giving up on Ukraine's interests," he said. "Because based on the logic of his and his administration's statements, their goal is peace at any cost. But for Ukraine, such an option is not acceptable." The directive to freeze U.S. military aid reportedly goes into effect immediately, impacting over $1 billion in weapons and ammunition. The pause affects not only future aid but also weapons already in transit, including shipments on aircraft and ships, as well as equipment awaiting transfer in Poland. "I'm full of anger," 'Bart,' a Special Operations Forces sniper fighting in the hot spot near Pokrovsk, told the Kyiv Independent. "America has sided with Russia, North Korea, and Iran, they have chosen the side of darkness. If the U.S. has chosen to play the role of world policeman, it is its duty to protect world democracy." Read also: Ursula von der Leyen announces ReArm Europe plan to boost European defense capabilities Yet despite the anger and the future of weapons supplies in doubt, Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent remain confident in their ability to fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. "There is no panic in the army," "Fuko" who serves with Ukraine's 66th Prince Mstyslav Khorobyi Brigade said, adding: "We are ready to keep going as long as it takes. "Moreover, the weapons supply crisis can be avoided if our European allies respond quickly and help us with the supply of the most important weapons." Bart acknowledged the aid freeze "will have some impact, but not a critical one." "Europe is helping us, we will break through — Russia is running out of steam, and we need to push on," he added. As Ukraine increasingly looks to Europe for support, there were signs on March 4 that Brussels was preparing to step up. "We must urgently find an alternative because civilians will die if we run out of missiles." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the ReArm Europe plan aimed at strengthening the defense capabilities of the EU's countries, which could unlock close to 800 billion euros ($842 billion). "Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities," von der Leyen said, adding: "This is a moment for Europe and we are ready to step up." Whether or not Europe can step up in time to fill the potential hole left by the U.S.' withdrawal remains to be seen, and Ukraine will be assessing which areas of its defense could be impacted the most. "Our main challenge is air defense which depends on U.S. support," Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych told the Kyiv Independent. "We must urgently find an alternative because civilians will die if we run out of missiles." Krotevych added that the Trump administration needs to understand this too, otherwise they are "setting themselves up for prison sentences." "When? Whether it happens after his current term or through impeachment is for the American people to decide," he added. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
