Wojtek Jargiło/PAP

Trucks waiting to get into Ukraine at the Dorohusk and Hrebenne border crossings in south-eastern Poland have to wait in long queues, with one now extending 25 kilometres.

The queue is the result of a blockade by Polish lorry drivers at the Dorohusk and Hrebenne border crossings, south-eastern Poland, launched in protest over what they see as unfair competition from Ukrainian road haulage firms.

“The queue of trucks waiting at the Dorohusk border crossing ends in the locality of Stolpie, which is located ca. 23 kilometres from Dorohusk,” Ewa Czyz, a press officer of the Chelm police, told PAP on Wednesday, adding that the queue had grown slightly shorter.

“There are around 1,100 trucks. The average waiting time is 335 hours,” she said, adding that the protest had been calm and no incidents had been reported.

Trucks waiting at the Hrebenne border crossing have to wait for some 120 hours as there are around 530 heavy-goods vehicles in the queue, a press officer of the Tomaszow Lubelski police said on Wednesday.

“The queue of trucks waiting at the Hrebenne border crossing ends in the locality of Dabrowa Tomaszowska, which is located ca. 25 kilometres from the frontier,” Malgorzata Pawlowska added.

Polish truckers, who started their protest last week, are demanding the introduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies carrying goods, except for those carrying humanitarian aid and military equipment.

They also demand that operating permits should be suspended in the case of companies that were set up after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.