Poland became the main gateway for Ukrainian freight after the Black Sea routes closed
Road freight between the European Union and Ukraine has moved overwhelmingly through Polish border crossings since mid-2022, when the suspension of Black Sea shipping routes forced Ukrainian exporters to redirect cargo overland. The four main crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border, at Medyka, Dorohusk, Hrebenne, and Budomierz, absorbed volumes previously distributed across maritime and multimodal routes. Infrastructure was not prepared for the shift, and congestion at the crossings lasted well into 2024.
Poland’s position in European road freight makes the pressure on this corridor particularly significant. According to Eurostat data for 2024, Poland accounted for 19.7 percent of total EU road freight performance in tonne-kilometres, placing it first among EU member states. Almost two thirds of Polish transport performance consisted of international, cross-trade, or cabotage operations, meaning the sector is heavily oriented toward cross-border movement rather than domestic freight.
Ukrainian carriers operating into the EU are subject to the AETR Agreement on the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport rather than EU Regulation 561/2006. The two frameworks differ in enforcement procedures, penalty structures, and tachograph standards. Poland’s Road Transport Inspectorate, GITD, which conducts checks on HGVs on Polish roads, has consistently listed tachograph-related irregularities among the primary violation categories found during inspections of carriers registered outside the EU. The Ukrainian fleet’s widespread use of older analog tachographs, even on cross-border runs, compounds the compliance challenge.
Border crossing times have been a persistent operational constraint. The European Commission’s solidarity lanes initiative, launched under Regulation 2022/1206, brought improvements to documentation requirements and lane management. Wait times that reached 40 to 50 hours during peak periods in 2022 and 2023 shortened after infrastructure upgrades at Dorohusk-Yahodyn, where additional HGV lanes were commissioned in late 2024. As of early 2025, standard eastbound loads with complete documentation were typically clearing the crossing in 10 to 15 hours according to queue monitoring data published by Polish border authorities.
The extended waiting periods create a specific operational problem for fleet operators managing vehicles remotely. Telematics data reviewed by a fleet management experts at GPSWOX covering the Central European corridor showed significantly higher average idling times for vehicles on the Poland-Ukraine route compared with purely EU operations, which affects both fuel consumption calculations and driver hours accounting. The company noted the sample reflected operators who had already adopted live tracking systems.
Westbound agricultural exports, primarily grain and oilseeds, have continued moving through the Polish land corridor. Polish farmers’ organizations raised objections to the volume of Ukrainian grain transiting through Poland in late 2023 and early 2024, leading to border blockades resolved through negotiations involving the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and the European Commission. Infrastructure investment on both sides of the border continues under the Ukraine Facility mechanism and the revised Trans-European Transport Network Regulation adopted in 2024.