On Tuesday, the Slovakian border crossing with Ukraine was blocked by truckers from Ukraine, according to police and media reports. However, the Slovakian truckers’ union distanced itself from the blockade, stating that it was the work of only one truck. Slovak truckers are supporting their Polish counterparts who are trying to limit the number of Ukrainian trucks entering the EU. Last week, they staged a symbolic brief blockade of the main border crossing to show their support, but said they would wait for negotiations before taking further steps.
According to Miloslav Tokar of the Slovak border police, the truckers blocked the Vysna Nemecka crossing on Tuesday at noon and were only letting a limited number of Ukrainian trucks cross. The Slovak News Agency TASR reported that a truck blocked the crossing citing the Slovak transport union UNAS. Union president Stanislav Skala told Reuters by phone that the union would wait for talks by EU, Polish, and Ukrainian officials before officially joining the blockades of Polish colleague.
Ukrainian customs announced on Telegram that “unknown persons blocked cargo traffic without any warning”, but also added that Ukraine had not received any official information from the Slovak side. She said that the Slovak side would start releasing trucks at 8 p.m., five an hour. This comes after Ukraine and Poland discussed blockades on their borders last week but without progress