What began as a limited carrier strike in November has ballooned into a full-scale blockade at the Dorohusk–Yahodyn crossing, one of Poland’s busiest freight arteries into Ukraine. On 9 December the Lublin Customs Administration confirmed that waiting times for export trucks now exceed 30 days, with some 1,500 vehicles idling on National Road 12. Protest leader Edyta Ozygała told PAP that demonstrators are now letting only one truck pass every three hours—down from three per hour last week—until Warsaw revises cabotage rules and fuel subsidies.
The action compounds an earlier blockade at three other crossings where roughly 1,900 lorries were already stalled, according to the State Border Guard Service. Combined, the disruptions have stranded an estimated €320 million worth of automotive parts, machinery and agri-food products, triggering supply-chain alerts from manufacturers in Katowice and Wrocław who rely on just-in-time Ukrainian components.
![Truck Queues Stretch 30 Days as Polish Carrier Protest Escalates at Dorohusk]()
For mobility managers, the strike is more than a cargo story. Temporary residence holders and foreign assignees commuting by company shuttle through Dorohusk report being rerouted 200 km north to the Hrebenne crossing or diverted via Slovakia, adding 6–8 hours to journeys. Polish HR directors must now factor in overtime costs and rest-time compliance for cross-border drivers caught in the logjam.
The Ministry of Infrastructure has offered mediation but so far refuses to abandon the EU-Ukraine road-transport liberalisation deal that protesters blame for “unfair” competition. Warsaw has, however, authorised the army’s Territorial Defence Force to deliver diesel and food to stranded drivers to avert a humanitarian issue.
Businesses should monitor the Border Guard’s live queue portal and build at least a three-day buffer for road shipments to or from Ukraine. Relocation providers are advising clients to use rail freight via Medyka or maritime routes through Gdańsk until the standoff eases.
The action compounds an earlier blockade at three other crossings where roughly 1,900 lorries were already stalled, according to the State Border Guard Service. Combined, the disruptions have stranded an estimated €320 million worth of automotive parts, machinery and agri-food products, triggering supply-chain alerts from manufacturers in Katowice and Wrocław who rely on just-in-time Ukrainian components.
For mobility managers, the strike is more than a cargo story. Temporary residence holders and foreign assignees commuting by company shuttle through Dorohusk report being rerouted 200 km north to the Hrebenne crossing or diverted via Slovakia, adding 6–8 hours to journeys. Polish HR directors must now factor in overtime costs and rest-time compliance for cross-border drivers caught in the logjam.
The Ministry of Infrastructure has offered mediation but so far refuses to abandon the EU-Ukraine road-transport liberalisation deal that protesters blame for “unfair” competition. Warsaw has, however, authorised the army’s Territorial Defence Force to deliver diesel and food to stranded drivers to avert a humanitarian issue.
Businesses should monitor the Border Guard’s live queue portal and build at least a three-day buffer for road shipments to or from Ukraine. Relocation providers are advising clients to use rail freight via Medyka or maritime routes through Gdańsk until the standoff eases.
