The Polish–Ukrainian border is the state border between
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. It has a total length of
[Informacje o Polsce – informacje ogólne]
. Page gives Polish PWN Encyklopedia as reference. to
(sources vary).
History
The Polish–Ukrainian border first came to be, briefly, in the aftermath of the
Polish–Ukrainian War in 1919. The
Treaty of Warsaw, signed in 1920, divided the disputed territories in Poland's favor along the
Zbruch River.
A year after the treaty was signed, however, Ukraine lost its independence to the Soviet Union, and its remaining territories were split between Poland and the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
in the
Peace of Riga
The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators o ...
.
During the
collectivization of Ukrainian farmland in the
first five-year plan and the
Holodomor
The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...
(Great Ukrainian Famine), numerous
Soviet citizens of
Ukrainian and
Polish nationality fled across the border to Poland. Interviews of Soviet refugees by Polish border guards provided the first knowledge of the famine to the West. Poland also sent
''agents provocateur'' across the border in order to encourage Ukrainians to revolt against Soviet rule, which was ineffective and only increased
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's paranoia about rebellion and dissidence in the region.
Following the signing of the
Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement and
invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union, vast territories in
eastern Poland were
annexed
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
to the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
. The new border was short-lived, as
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
invaded the Soviet Union in
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
. The invasion of Ukraine began with the German
1st Panzer Army
The 1st Panzer Army () was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (''Panzergruppe ...
crossing the border and defeating the
Soviet 5th Army in the
Battle of Brody. In 1945, following the end of the war and the establishment of the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
, a new border was formed between the Ukrainian SSR and Poland based on the
Yalta Agreement. As a result, Poland lost vast territories in Ukraine's favor, including the city of
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
.
During the negotiations on the
Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945
The Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945 established the borders between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the People's Republic of Poland, Republic of Poland. It was signed by the Provisional Governme ...
, alongside the Polish-Ukrainian section of the border, the Polish side proposal was categorically rejected. Due to this, the Polish side proposed more modest changes, namely to transfer the
railway junction in
Khyriv (Polish: Chyrów) to Poland, in which two parallel main lines of national importance were connected. At the same time,
Rava-Ruska
Rava-Ruska (, ; ; ) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is a border town between Ukraine and Poland. The Rava-Ruska (border checkpoint), border checkpoint is situated west of the city, along the international autoroute Warsa ...
was requested. In this town, located near the
Curzon Line, three Polish and one Ukrainian railway line converged. Polish requests were completely rejected, only managing to slightly shift the border to the east near
Przemyśl
Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
,
Korczowa and
Horyniec-Zdrój. The Soviets also agreed to let
Medyka be on the Polish side. The
Bieszczady County was also obtained, thanks to the efforts of
Stanisław Leszczycki during the negotiations, covering about 300 square km with
Halicz and
Tarnica peaks.
The
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
into a number of
post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
transformed the Poland-Soviet border into the chain of
Poland-Russia,
Poland-Lithuania,
Poland-Belarus and Poland–Ukraine borders.
Poland and Ukraine have confirmed the border on 18 May 1992.
It is the longest of Polish eastern borders.
The border became much more open compared to the Soviet times, when despite being part of the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
, crossing was very difficult.
As the border was opened to mass traffic, the number of people crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border begun rising steadily since 1990, stabilizing around 2000s.
Approximately 3 million Ukrainians crossed the border in the 1990s, annually.
One of the peak numbers was recorded in 2001, with about 12 million people crossing the border.
With Poland joining the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in 2004 the border has become one of the
external borders of the European Union.
It is one of four EU-Ukraine borders, the others being the
Hungary–Ukraine border,
Romania–Ukraine border and the
Slovakia–Ukraine border. As it is an entry point to the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
, this introduced a
visa requirement for
Ukrainian citizens entering Poland as of October 2003.
In the period October 2003-September 2004 Polish authorities issued about 620,000
visas to Ukrainians.
[ The visa requirement has not reduced the traffic significantly, as it returned to the prior levels within a year.] Another peak has occurred in 2006, when there were almost 20 million border crossings.[ In 2008 Poland and Ukraine adopted policies on local border traffic (put into effect in 2009).] This agreement introduced local border traffic permits, allowing holders to cross the border for up to 90 days per half-year. 2009 saw approximately 12 million border crossings on the Poland–Ukraine border.[
On 11 June 2017, the visa policy of the Schengen Area was amended. Ukrainian citizens who hold ]biometric passports
A biometric passport (also known as an electronic passport, e-passport or a digital passport) is a passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip, which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identit ...
no longer require a visa to enter the Schengen Area (including Poland) for a stay of up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
2023 border blockade
On 6 November 2023, several dozen owners of Polish transport companies blocked three major Poland–Ukraine border crossings to protest claimed unfair competition from Ukrainian transport companies. The protesters said so far during 2023, Ukrainian trucks had crossed the border about 900,000 times compared to about 180,000 times in previous years. A temporary wartime EU agreement allowed Ukrainian trucks to deliver and collect to and from the EU without the usual permits. The agreement only allowed cross-border transports between Ukraine and EU, but protesters claim that Ukrainian drivers started taking cargoes inside EU, quickly pushing out local drivers from the market due to lower operational costs, as they are not subject to EU labour and environmental regulations. The protesters also quoted long 12-14 days wait times and extortion of bribes on the Ukrainian side of the border. The Polish truckers association ZMPD was joined by MKFE (Hungary), Cesmad Bohemia (Czechia), Cesmad Slovakia and Linava (Lithuania).
On 19 November, about 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks were stuck at the Dorhusk-Yagodin, Korczowa-Krakovets and Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska border crossings, parked up to from the crossings. Waiting time for trucks to cross the border was about one week. On 27 November, the blockade was extended to the Medyka-Szeginie/Shehyni crossing. As of 4 December 2023, per Ukrainian e-Cherha system, there were over 22'000 trucks waiting for crossing back into EU on Ukrainian side. On the same day Ukrainian border force announced opening of new exit corridor for empty trucks returning to EU.
On 11 December, some local authorities in Poland withdrew permission for the protests, but a few days later on the 15 December the Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
regional court revoked one of the decisions and the blockades resumed. One queue was reported as long.
By February 2024, the blockade had expanded to all major crossings including railways, and protestors had spilt some grain onto the ground from train transport. On 27 February 2024, about 10,000 farmers marched in Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
demanding a ban on food imports from Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Poland–Ukraine border is the most often crossed eastern border of the EU.[Eastern Borders Annual Risk Analysis 2013, FRONTEX]
/ref>
Most of the border traffic is generated by Ukrainian citizens. Petty trade and shopping tourism were and still are driving much of the traffic, with migration for labor purposes being another significant factor.[
The border is heavily policed, as it is a major ]smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
route into the EU, both for goods and for illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
.[
Approximately 8 million people live in the border area, roughly equally divided between Poland and Ukraine.]
Border crossings
There are numerous border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, in a combination of road, rail, passenger and cargo crossings. As of 2012, the following were active:[Updated fro]
Drogowe przejścia graniczne
2022-07-17; originally from
* Medyka- Szeginie/Shehyni: road, cargo and passenger crossing;
**Przemyśl
Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
- Mostyska II: rail, cargo and passenger crossing; main line Przemyśl
Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
-Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
several hundred meters from road checkpoint
* Dołhobyczów- Uhrynów/Uhryniv: road, 24 hrs.
* Korczowa-Krakovets: road, cargo and passenger crossing; 24 hrs.
* Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska
Rava-Ruska (, ; ; ) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is a border town between Ukraine and Poland. The Rava-Ruska (border checkpoint), border checkpoint is situated west of the city, along the international autoroute Warsa ...
: road, cargo and passenger crossing; and rail passenger crossing;
* Zosin- Uściług/Ustyluh: road, passenger crossing;
* Dorohusk-: both road and rail, cargo and passenger crossings;
* Hrubieszów
Hrubieszów (; ; , or ) is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of around 18,212 (2016). It is the capital of Hrubieszów County within the Lublin Voivodeship.
Throughout history, the town's culture and architecture was strongly shaped ...
-Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr (, ), previously known as Volodymyr-Volynskyi () from 1944 to 2021, is a small city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Volodymyr Raion and the center of Volodymyr urban hromada. It is one ...
: rail, cargo and passenger crossing;
* Krościenko-: road
* Werchrata-Rava-Ruska: rail, cargo crossing
* Budomierz-: road
See also
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland-Ukraine border
Borders of Poland
Borders of Ukraine
European Union external borders
International borders
Lublin Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship