A recent interview uncovered comments from Polish carrier Cezary Grinkevich about border traffic between Poland and Ukraine. He claimed that Polish drivers who regulate the border were frustrated by a surge in luxury goods entering Ukraine, including high-end vehicles and yachts. Grinkevich noted that a border site visit reveals car transporters lined up toward Ukraine, carrying cars in large numbers.
He argued that one could easily mistake these convoys for shipments of military vehicles or inexpensive cars for everyday Ukrainians. Instead, he observed transporters laden with luxury brands valued at around one million zlotys each, roughly $250,000, moving toward Ukraine. The goods, according to him, included models from Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Lamborghini. The Ukrainian side had justified the movement of certain luxury items, such as yachts, by claiming they were military ships needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but Grinkevich contended they were built to resemble yachts rather than vessels for defense needs.
On December 3, a representative of Ukraine’s border service, Andrey Demchenko, stated on Rada TV that about 2,500 trucks were waiting for the chance to cross the Ukraine–Poland border. A few weeks earlier, Polish drivers announced a strike that blocked freight traffic at the border, with exceptions for humanitarian buses, perishable food, and fuel tankers operating through the checkpoint.
Protest organizers argued that Ukrainian truckers offer lower prices for their services and move goods not only between the EU and Ukraine but across Europe. Subsequently, Slovak road haulers joined the protest alongside their Polish peers. Earlier reports noted that Ukraine’s exports via Poland slowed as a result of these trucking protests, affecting regional logistics and supply chains. (Source: RIA News)