The Ukrainian Embassy and Consulate General in Lublin have contacted the police in connection with an incident that occurred at the border when grain from a Ukrainian truck was spilled. This was reported by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych.
A video of a protest on the Polish-Ukrainian border surfaced online on February 11. It shows people dumping grain from a truck. According to the embassy, the grain was intended for transit to Lithuania. The incident sparked outrage among Ukrainian social media users. Ambassador Wasyl Zwarych said Polish police had opened a case into the incident.
“Such methods of protest cannot be tolerated in a civilized European country, not to mention the moral aspect of this provocation. Therefore, we insist that the perpetrators be brought to justice. The Polish authorities must respond decisively to this incident, which is offensive to Ukrainians and the majority of Poles, and not allow such barbaric actions in the future,” the ambassador emphasized.
On February 12, two more checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, “Ustylug” and “Uhryniv”, were blocked in Poland. On February 11, Polish protesters stopped several Ukrainian trucks with Ukrainian grain at the entrance to the “Dorohusk” checkpoint and dumped the cargo from the semi-trailers. The organizer of this action was Rafal Mekler, reports the Center for Countering Disinformation.
The Center for Countering Disinformation explained that Mekler is known in Poland as the head of the local branch of the Eurosceptic Confederation of Freedom and Independence party. He is also one of the organizers of protests on the Polish-Ukrainian border and the head of a local logistics company.
The Confederation party does not have significant demand among Poles, as it supports the idea of Poland leaving the European Union and moving closer to Moscow.
“This action by Mekler clearly meets the interests of Russia, which is interested in the conflict between Ukrainians and Poles and in reducing support for Ukraine from the European Union. In addition, this action has become beneficial to semi-criminal Polish groups suspected of raider schemes in the transportation market in the European Union,” the Center for Countering Disinformation reports.
