Ukraine bans transit of Russian trucks – government’s decision

“The Russian Federation, in violation of the rules and procedures of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on haulage by road on a unilateral basis, stopped movement of Ukrainian trucks on the territory of Russia”.

According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, over 100 heavy trucks remain blocked in Ukraine and over 500 ones cannot enter Ukraine’s territory on the way back to Russia from the European Union.

The ban on trucks is the latest example of Russian-Ukrainian tensions that have intensified after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and continuing support of pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

On Sunday, the Russian transport ministry barred Ukrainian trucks because Ukrainian activists had been blocking some Russian trucks from entering Ukraine.

Yatsenyuk said the ban on Russian trucks will be lifted when Russian authorities allow Ukrainian truckers into Russia again. Ukraine must now transport goods to Belarus in sealed containers.

The Ukrainian Security Service today ordered a three-year ban on entering the country for crew of foreign ships that carry out commercial traffic on the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

“Negotiations on a free trade area between Ukraine and Turkey were suspended in 2013”. As a result, Russian trucks traveling from Western Europe have been using routes through Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary.