Slovakia has partially unblocked the border with Ukraine

This was reported by the State Border Guard Service.

The Slovak side partially resumed the passage of vehicles leaving Ukraine from 19:30 on December 13.

It was previously reported that only 2 vehicles per hour would be allowed to enter Slovakia. In practice, 3-4 trucks are being allowed per hour.

On November 21, Slovak carriers blocked the movement of trucks at the Vyshne-Nemecke checkpoint at the entrance to Ukraine, as reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The blockade was initiated and organized by the Union of Slovak Carriers (UNAS). They demanded that Brussels introduce permits for the transportation of Ukrainian vehicles, claiming that European companies cannot compete with them. This is similar to the demands of protesters at the Poland-Ukraine border, who called for the cancellation of the European Union’s decision from March 2022 on free access to the EU transport market.

The organizers of the blockade in Poland, the recently created “Committee for the Protection of Carriers and Employers in the Transport Industry,” claim that the action is economic and not political. But that is not true. However, their actions have not found support among the authorities and other organizations of carriers. Nevertheless, the protest is being actively supported by the consistent anti-Ukrainian and anti-European party “Konfederacja,” whose representatives are the most vocal in expressing anti-Ukrainian statements, fighting against Ukrainian refugees in the media, and already billing for assistance to Ukraine and its citizens.

At midnight, the Slovak police removed the person who was blocking the border and evacuated the vehicle.

As of the morning of November 24, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, reported the unblocking of the Ukrainian-Slovak border. However, on Friday, December 1, Slovak carriers again began blocking the checkpoint at the border with Ukraine.

The actions of the Slovak strikers ended for the second time on December 4. Then, the traffic for trucks through the Vyshne-Nemecke checkpoint, adjacent to the Ukrainian Uzhhorod checkpoint, was unblocked.

At the same time, within two days, carriers announced that “UNAS remains in a state of readiness for a strike, and in the absence of other alternatives to resolve the situation, the organization is ready to completely block the Vyshne-Nemecke-Uzhhorod border crossing in both directions.”

Recall that in the morning, the Union of Slovak Carriers announced the continuation of the blockade of the Vyshne Nemecke-Uzhhorod border crossing from 15:00 on Monday, December 11. It is reported that the protest of Slovak long-haul drivers on the Ukrainian-Slovak border will last “until a special order.” The decision to continue the blockade was made by the president of the union.

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