Activists block route between Germany, Poland, demanding halt to trade with Russia

Activists from Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the UK on Monday blocked the A2 highway on the Polish-German border, demanding an end to EU trade with Russia.

They were holding national flags and photos of those killed by Russian invaders in settlements just outside Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Activists were calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to "stop financing Russia's war crimes" by ending international trade with Russia.

"We, the citizens of Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Great Britain, and Ukraine, demand that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stop trading with Russia completely. For two weeks, the German government has been ignoring our appeals, so we have begun a peaceful blockade of the A2 main highway, which connects Poland and Germany,” the activists said in a press release.

They emphasize that they want to "awaken conscience of the German people", as more than 100,000 Russian soldiers keep killing Ukrainians every day, while most Russians support the crime. Meanwhile, Germany "continues to trade with Russia, which supports Russian economy and actually sponsors the war."

It is noted that the money that German companies pay as taxes in Russia buys bombs, missiles, and shells, which are then used to kill peaceful Ukrainian people and children.

 “Stop financially supporting the occupiers! Behold the suffering of millions of Ukrainians who have been living in basements for more than a month, hiding from the Russian occupiers,” activists said.

Activists have earlier twice blocked the movement of Russian and Belarusian trucks on the Polish-Belarusian border to draw attention to the assumption that trade between the EU and Russia in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine was unacceptable.

According to the Deputy Minister of the Interior of Poland, Maciej Wonsik, at the Polish-Belarusian border, all trucks leaving Poland for Belarus are currently subjected to a very thorough inspection. Therefore, the waiting time for trucks at the border is now 80 hours.