Polish Farmers Blocked the Railway at the Medyka Border Crossing and Spilled Grain from the Wagon

In the morning of 20 February, Polish farmers blocked the railway near the Medyka- Shehyni border crossing and spilled some grain out of a freight train onto the tracks. The public broadcaster published photos and video of the spilled grain. According to the correspondent, in less than half an hour the police arrived at the place, after which the farmers unblocked the railway traffic. Roman Kodruv, co-organizer of the protests, explained the protesters’ actions as driven by “emotions” because farmers were “desperate due to the grain influx from Ukraine.” The previous such incident with spilled grain, which took place at the beginning of the month, involved trucks that were involved in transporting grain further afield through Poland at the Dorohusk checkpoint. The prosecutor’s office started an investigation into the protesters’ actions and the Polish government apologized for the incident. We recall, on 20 February, farmers started a large protest across Polish territory, including on the border with Ukraine. The Polish agriculture minister addressed the farmers on the eve of the protest and invited the protesters to negotiations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the blocking of the Polish-Ukrainian border as unacceptable and stressed that such actions looked politicized and had serious consequences for Ukraine.