Polish farmers blocked an important border crossing with Germany in Slubice on Monday in protest against the European Union’s green rules and the import of Ukrainian grain into the EU, AFP and Reuters reported, citing Agerpres.

Protesters have since Sunday installed tractors at the end of the A2 highway, blocking the crossing, located south of the Polish city of Słubice, which is separated by the Oder River from the German city of Frankfurt am Oder.

“We Polish farmers are here because we don’t accept the European Union’s environmental rules” and “uncontrolled imports of grain from countries outside the EU,” protester Christopher Janicki told AFP.

The blockade, which was originally supposed to last for 25 days, was supposed to end in the afternoon when the farmers changed their minds after discussions with local residents, businessmen and transporters. Farmers have been protesting in Poland for several weeks, blocking roads and border points with Ukraine.

Poland has been one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters since the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022. However, relations between the two neighboring countries have been strained in recent months over trade disputes, particularly over Brussels’ opening of EU borders to products from Ukrainian farms that Polish farmers say do not comply with EU rules.

“Polish farmers have full pantries and cannot get their goods. If we can’t sell the grain, we won’t be able to make money and continue production,” Janicki told AFP.

There were isolated cases of dumping of agricultural products on the highway or railway near the common border. On Friday, the Polish government told AFP that Warsaw and Kyiv are “far from an agreement” on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.

In turn, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine reserves the “right to take retaliatory measures”, and the Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on Monday called on Poland to take tough measures against farmers who block the border between two countries.