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EU assessing Ukraine-Russia truck transport bans

On February 14, Russia suspended transit of Ukrainian trucks through Russia in response to Ukrainian activists blocking trucks with Russian license plates

© Viktor Drachev/TASS

BRUSSELS, February 16. /TASS/. EU’s executive body, the European Commission, is assessing the situation between Ukraine and Russia following Kiev’s ban on the transit of Russian trucks, a spokesman for EU trade commissioner said on Tuesday.

"The EU is currently assessing the complex situation with regards to transport between Ukraine and Russia. The EU has permanent contacts with Ukraine on a number of issues including the Russian measures to try to further clarify the situation," spokesman Daniel Rosario told TASS.

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"Any measure having an impact on trade need to be discussed at bilateral level between the trade partners. In no way can any retaliation be justified outside the legal foreseen frameworks," he said.

On February 12, radically-minded Ukrainian activists in the area of Mokrany-Domanovo blocked entry into Ukraine to trucks with Russian license plates and the license plates of other countries carrying Russian goods. A day earlier, a group of activists, including former participants in the military crackdown in Donbass, launched a similar protest action to upset the transit of Russian heavy trucks. They set up two road blocks in the area of village Nizhniye Vorota.

On February 14, Russia suspended transit of Ukrainian trucks through Russia in response to those actions. On Monday, Ukrainian government official announced suspension of transit of Ukrainian trucks through Russia.

More than 100 Russian trucks are currently trapped in various regions across Ukraine while more than 500 cars cannot enter Ukraine from the European Union member-states to return to Russia.

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