Poland did not support Ukraine's proposal regarding border controls

The proposal by Ukraine’s Ministry of Development to temporarily relocate border control procedures to Polish territory in Dorohusk during martial law was not supported. Instead, at the meeting, Ukraine and Poland agreed on other measures intended to expedite the passage of cargo across the border.

 

A bilateral meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Poland took place at the “Dorohusk–Yagodin” international road border crossing. The parties discussed the operation of border crossings on the Ukrainian-Polish border and the issues that arise during the clearance of cargo. The meeting was held at the initiative of the Ministry of Development of Ukraine. The Volyn Customs Office was represented by its head, Dmytro Stasenko, and the chief of the “Yagodin” customs post, Viktor Lonchuk.

One of the issues discussed was the operation of border crossing points during air raid alerts in Volyn. The Polish side officially confirmed that during alerts, the border crossing points in Dorohusk and Zosyn will also suspend operations. These checkpoints are located opposite the Ukrainian “Yagodyn” and “Ustyluh” checkpoints. This decision is justified on the grounds of ensuring the safety of people, vehicles, and cargo.

 

At the same time, Ukraine proposed moving border control procedures to Polish territory in Dorohusk for the duration of martial law. However, this proposal was not supported. As noted following the meeting, there is no legal basis for such a decision, nor are there the necessary physical capabilities at the border crossing. Due to work stoppages during alerts, there is a risk that customs clearance of cargo will proceed unevenly. This could affect the number of vehicles that can be allowed to cross the border within a 24-hour period.

Therefore, the Ukrainian and Polish sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between the law enforcement and regulatory agencies of both countries. The goal is to ensure that, following forced stoppages, each side can quickly make up for lost time and return to its planned pace of work. Currently, the target is 600 freight vehicles per day in each direction.

 

A separate agreement was reached regarding the handling of particularly sensitive cargo. The Polish police will assist such vehicles in gaining priority access to the border crossing point. This should allow for faster delivery of such cargo to the border and enable customs clearance without unnecessary delays.

Thus, efforts to move border control to Polish territory have not yet been successful. Instead, Ukraine and Poland have agreed to improve coordination between their services so that delays caused by air raid alerts have as little impact as possible on the flow of cargo across the border. This was reported by the Volyn Customs Office.

In the Lviv region, near the “Rava-Ruska–Khrebenne” and “Krakovets–Korchova” border crossing points, construction is underway on parking lots designed to accommodate 470 trucks. The project aims to promote the development of transport logistics and the modernization of border infrastructure between Ukraine and European countries.

Poland has evacuated two border crossing points on the border with Ukraine due to attacks by the Russian Federation.

Earlier, Poland placed six border crossing points on the border with Ukraine on high alert. Military personnel were deployed to the border crossing points, and additional security measures were implemented to ensure a quicker evacuation of people in the event of a threat.

On Wednesday, September 23, a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter violated Polish airspace, flying in from the Kaliningrad region. The Russian helicopter remained in Polish airspace for 42 seconds.