Bloomberg says Eastern Europe threatens Ukraine’s economic lifeline

Sputnik – Poland has imposed a ban on grain imports from Ukraine as the ruling Law and Justice party does not want to alienate voters ahead of the fall parliamentary elections, Bloomberg reports.

The article notes that “Ukraine’s crucial economic lifeline is being threatened by Eastern European governments grappling with the limits of popular support for Kiev.”

The Polish authorities wanted to ensure that Warsaw’s support for Kiev did not alienate voters, which is why they imposed an embargo on grain imports, say the article’s authors, referring to a local official.

The leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslav Kaczynski, for his part, believes that Poland’s “difficult decision” will ultimately help Ukraine.

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“It is not in the interest of our friends for Poland to plunge into a crisis – and to see people come to power here and radically change the policy of support for Ukraine,” he said.

The European Commission said on Friday it had reached an agreement in principle to allow Ukrainian grain transit to resume through five EU countries that had imposed restrictions.

The countries that imposed these measures are Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, citing concerns that Ukrainian grain destined for export to other countries ended up in their markets, driving down prices for local farmers.