On Tuesday, the Slovak border crossing with Ukraine was blocked by a group of truckers who claimed to be acting in solidarity with Polish counterparts. However, the Slovakian truckers’ union distanced itself from the blockade, stating that it was only one truck that had been involved. Truck drivers from Ukraine have been exempted from permits to cross the border since Russia invaded their country in February 2022, and this has caused problems for Polish and Slovak carriers.
According to reports, a single Ukrainian truck blocked the Vysna Nemecka crossing on Tuesday morning, causing delays for cargo traffic. The Slovak transport union UNAS confirmed this information through its president, Stanislav Skala, who spoke to Reuters by phone. He stated that the union would wait for negotiations by EU, Polish, and Ukrainian officials before officially joining any blockades of Polish colleagues.
The blocking of the border crossing has caused tension between Ukraine and Poland as they continue to discuss ways to limit the number of Ukrainian trucks entering the EU. Ukrainian customs announced on Telegram that “unknown persons blocked cargo traffic without any warning,” but also stated that no official information had been received from the Slovak side regarding the cause of the blockade.
The Slovak border police also confirmed that a truck had blocked the Vysna Nemecka crossing at noon on Tuesday and was only allowing a limited number of Ukrainian trucks to cross. Miloslav Tokar, head of border police operations in Slovakia, stated that negotiations were ongoing with EU officials to find a solution to this issue.
