Second Ukrainian Driver Dies in Queue on Border With Poland - Carriers Association

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A second Ukrainian driver died at a checkpoint between Poland and Ukraine on Thursday while waiting his turn to cross the border between the two nations amid a strike by Polish carriers that has been ongoing for over two weeks, the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine said.

The first fatality occurred on November 11, when a 54–year-old truck driver from Ukraine died in a parking lot in Poland while waiting to cross the border, Ukrainian media reported.

"This morning we received information that a driver had died in a parking lot in [the village of] Korczowa [at the Korczowa-Krakovets' checkpoint] at night. Unfortunately, this is the second fatal case since the beginning of the blockade," Ukrainian TV channel Hromadske quoted the association's head, Vladimir Balin, as saying.

In early November, Polish carriers blocked three automobile checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, including the Korczowa-Krakovets' checkpoint to protest what they said was the Polish government's inaction over their loss of business to foreign competitors. Their discontent is associated with the fact that Ukrainian truckers have been exempt from obtaining permits to cross the Polish border since February 2022, which has made their services cheaper and more attractive to customers. The protesters demand the reintroduction of restrictions on Ukrainian truckers entering Poland and a ban on Poland-based transport companies with capital from outside the European Union. The strike is expected to last until January 2024.