New protests by Polish farmers have sparked outrage in neighboring Ukraine, which on Tuesday appealed to the European Commission for a “decisive response” to the actions of these farmers, who almost completely blocked border points with Ukraine, as well as about a hundred roads and overturned wagons. with Ukrainian wheat as a sign of protest against the “unfair competition” of Ukrainian agricultural products, which, they say, according to the rules adopted by the European Commission, enter Poland without control.

An organizer of a Polish protest at the Doruhusk border crossing said farmers were only allowing one bus per hour on Tuesday but would not allow trucks between 08:00 and 18:00 local time, Reuters, AFP and Agerpres.

“In my opinion, the border should be closed. Procedures and systems must be clarified, and only after that it will be possible to reopen, but not according to the rules we have now. Because now (from Ukraine) you can take anything, as much as you want, to Poland,” explained the organizer of the protest.

At another border point, in Medyka, Polish demonstrators opened loaded freight cars and poured Ukrainian wheat out of them, which increased Kyiv’s indignation. “Scattering Ukrainian grain on the railway tracks is a new challenge designed to divide our peoples,” said the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

For her part, the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyridenko, said that she informed the European Commission, which asked for a “decisive reaction” to the actions of Polish farmers. According to the Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi, the grain exported by Polish farmers was destined for Germany.

During this time, Ukrainian carriers started a counter-demonstration at three border points with Poland. “The blockade of Ukraine is a betrayal of European values!” they wrote on a poster hung at the protest.

The new pro-European government of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it understood farmers’ grievances, but asked them not to take action that could affect the transportation of military aid given to Ukraine in its war with Russia. This is also the argument of Kyiv, which claims that blocking the Polish border affects its military potential and thus serves Russia. According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the situation on the Polish border demonstrates “the erosion of solidarity every day.”

The Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Czeslaw Siekersky, previously stated that negotiations with Kyiv are ongoing and an agreement with him on limiting Ukrainian imports can be reached by the end of March.

Polish farmers began blocking border crossings with Ukraine in November, but last month agreed to suspend their action to give the new government led by Donald Tusk some time to negotiate with Kiev to resolve their demands. They are protesting against the free entry of Ukrainian products into the market, which do not meet European quality standards, and therefore are cheaper and distort the market.

But after the European Commission’s decision to maintain free access for Ukrainian products to the EU market, Polish farmers decided to resume protests suspended in January, when the government in Warsaw offered them a series of benefits to compensate for the losses, such as tax cuts and a package of loans with preferential interest rates and subsidies for corn production. By renewing the blockade of some border points, the farmers are also trying to force the Tusk government to fulfill these promises, which, however, also need the approval of the European Commission.