Kyiv Sends Note of Protest to Poland, EU after Banning Ukrainian Import

Ukraine has submitted requests to the embassies of Poland and the European Union with a note of protest against restrictions on the import of its products, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Saturday.

"Yesterday, notes were sent to embassies of the Republic of Poland and the European Union regarding the absolutely unacceptable situation with trade restrictions on import of Ukrainian agricultural products," Nikolenko said on social media.

Nikolenko mentioned that the imposed restrictions are not in accordance with the agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, nor with the principles and standards of the European single market.

Nikolenko added that there are all the necessary legal grounds for an immediate resumption of importation.

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noted on Friday that he had urged President of the European Council Charles Michel, to solve the problem by imposing restrictions on the import of Ukrainian products.

Ukraine secured a duty-free trade agreement with the EU last June. In March 2022, the EU additionally launched Green Corridors to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain to the world market.

However, cheap grain from Ukraine ended up flooding EU markets instead, sparking anger among local farmers.

On April 15, Poland and Hungary pointed out that they were banning imports of Ukrainian agricultural products until June 30, citing the need to protect local farmers from the uncontrolled flow of cheap grain from Ukraine. Slovakia followed suit on April 17 and Bulgaria on April 19.