Polish authorities were dispatched by the mayor of Dorohusk on Monday afternoon to disperse one of the truck drivers’ protests at the border crossing with Ukraine that had been ongoing for weeks due to claims by Polish haulage associations of unfair competition due to relaxed EU regulations.
Police officers took action later that evening to clear the blockade after protesters twice refused to comply with dispersal requests.
Rafał Mekler, the Confederation party member and a transport company owner from the eastern Lublin region, shared videos of the action in Dorohusk on social media.
“Dantean scenes at the transporters’ protest,” wrote Mekler alongside footage of authorities dragging protesters to the side of the road to allow trucks, only a handful of which were being permitted to pass through each hour, to travel on into Poland.
In the videos, a man wearing a reflective vest is seen refusing to leave a pedestrian crossing, leading to a police officer lifting him by the arm and moving him to the side.
Further updates revealed that armed police formed a cordon at the site. The protest leader announced plans to continue blockades at the Hrebenne and Korczowa crossings.
The border protests, which started in early November, arose from a Brussels decision to liberalize trade rules with Kyiv. The protesters are demanding, among other things, the introduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies for goods transport, excluding humanitarian aid and supplies for the Ukrainian military, and the suspension of licenses for companies established after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
