Ukraine calls on Poland to re-examine the decision to prevent the export of Ukrainian grain across its borders
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal appealed to Poland to re-examine the decision to ban the export of Ukrainian grain across the Polish border.
“First, Russia thwarted the Black Sea grain initiative, and now it is destroying Ukrainian ports from which grain shipments have gone out to dozens of countries all over the world. Russia wants to cause hunger and a food crisis, and we are doing everything we can to prevent that,” Shmyhal said, according to the Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukrain.
He added, “We have succeeded in carrying out two seed planting operations in very difficult conditions. Ukrainian farmers work even in mined fields. They are harvesting the second crop. We are building new logistics facilities on the western border, we have tripled the sales of goods across the Danube.”
He added, “We are opening new checkpoints and expanding the capabilities of existing ones, and at this very difficult time, we unfortunately hear statements from our Polish allies that the EU borders for Ukrainian grain will be closed.”
He expressed his gratitude to Poland for the assistance it has provided since the large-scale Russian war, and called for an expert dialogue between the two countries to discuss the decision.
He concluded: “I would like to appeal to our Polish brothers that your support during the Russian war is exceptional. We will never forget this and we will always be grateful for it. You are always the first to support Ukraine. You understand better than anyone else that Ukraine is now a shield that does not allow Russians to enter Europe, therefore, we urge you not to succumb to slogans and populism, the Poles provide assistance to Ukraine and thereby drive Russia into a dead end, we offer you cooperation and dialogue, etc. Innocence instead of slogans and short-term political expediency.
Russia announced its withdrawal from the agreement to export grain across the Black Sea last Monday, saying that its demands related to subsidizing its exports of foodstuffs and fertilizers were not met, and it also criticized the lack of sufficient quantities of Ukrainian grain to reach poor countries.
