Trucking between Russia and Ukraine Resumes
The Russian Ministry of Transport reported on the 24th of February that Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the resumption of transit as of the 25th of February. “All restrictions were indefinitely lifted,” the representative of the Russian Ministry of Transport, Nikolay Asaul, stated in his interview with Interfax. The Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Andriy Pyvovarsky, also reported about the resumption of transit between the two countries at a Cabinet meeting.
According to Pyvovarsky, the Ukrainians made the proposal. Later that day, Moscow issued a request to Kiev to lift the restrictions on freight transportation. This request was considered at a meeting of Ukrainian Government officials on the 24th of February. Russia and Ukraine had fully suspended freight transportation through their territories for each other in mid-February.
The western Ukrainian border was closed to Russian trucks headed to the European Union countries. The situation for Russian transport companies has worsened due to the suspension of freight transit to the EU through Poland on the 16th of February in connection with the absence of an agreement on quotas for foreign vehicles.