Ukrainian anti-war activists at Poland-Belarus border stop trucks in effort to halt trade with Russia
Traffic backed up for 30 miles, Ashley Webster reports from the ground
Protesters disrupt major trade route between Poland and Belarus
FOX Business' Ashley Webster reports from Poland on the protest held in an effort to halt trade with Russia.
Poland protesters have been disrupting a major trade route between the country and Belarus by stopping trucks from entering, in an effort to halt trade with Russia as the war in Ukraine rages on.
A group of protesters blocked the road at the Koroszczyn border point, calling for a ban on trade with Russia and its ally Belarus.
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster reported on the protest from Koroszczyn where he noted on "Varney & Co." that because Ukrainian anti-war activists blocked the entrance for trucks at the border of Poland and Belarus, traffic was backed up for 30 miles and included more than 1500 trucks on Tuesday.
He also reported that many of the demonstrators are displaced Ukrainian refugees and that the backup has been going for several weeks.
Webster noted that "tempers flared" earlier on Tuesday as angry drivers confronted the protesters.
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Protesters reportedly argued that the trucks shouldn’t be allowed to cross the border because they will generate trade, which, in turn, will generate money for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The protestors also reportedly stressed that the trade route is a way for Russian President Vladimir Putin to circumvent sanctions and bring in goods through the freight lines and, therefore, it should not be allowed.
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Webster reported that as of Tuesday, the trucks are allowed to cross the border, however, protesters are appealing to the European Union to cut off the trade route between Poland into Belarus and to Russia.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on the EU to halt all land and sea trade with Russia as he commented on the protest on Saturday.
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Webster said he spoke with one Russian truck driver named Alexander, who was transporting a shipment of frozen potatoes. The driver said that he has nothing to do with the war, but is merely trying to make a living to support his family.
"It’s not for the war, it is only for our family," he said, adding that "we [are] doing this work for people, not for Russia."
The latest round of the protest, which has been on and off for about two weeks in eastern Poland, began early Saturday.
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster reported from live the border between Poland and Belarus as protesters disrupt a major shipping route.
Early Sunday, about 950 trucks were waiting to cross into Belarus, according to a spokesman for the local tax office, who noted that the wait time was 32 hours.
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Police were called to the scene as they separated protesters from the trucks and drivers, road infrastructure authorities said.
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FOX Business’ Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.