Slovak, Polish protesters ease blockade on borders with Ukraine

Slovak and Polish protesters eased the blockade on their borders with Ukraine, which had paralyzed cross-frontier traffic, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, reported Xinhua.

The truck traffic on the border with Slovakia has been gradually increasing since Slovak haulers stopped blocking the Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod crossing late Thursday, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) of Ukraine said in a statement.

As of Friday morning, 60 trucks had been registered for departure from Ukraine to Slovakia, while another 1,065 trucks were waiting in an electronic queue to cross the Slovak border, the SBGS said on Telegram.

Separately, SBGS spokesman Andriy Demchenko told local media that the number of Ukrainian lorries crossing the border with Poland at the Yahodyn-Dorogusk checkpoint has returned to the pre-blockade level.

On Thursday, about 1,200 freight vehicles crossed the Yahodyn-Dorogusk checkpoint, Demchenko said.

Since Nov. 6, Polish carriers have been staging protests at several checkpoints on the Ukrainian border, demanding the return of the permit regime for Ukrainian haulers crossing into the European Union.

On Nov. 21, Slovakian activists seeking the return of permits for Ukrainian drivers joined the protest, blocking the Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod border crossing.

The EU canceled permits for Ukrainian haulers last year.