Russia-Ukraine war: Belarus permits entry of EU-registered trucks carrying medical goods

In a major development amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the Belarusian government has widened the list of cargo exceptions from the ban announced on April 16 on European Union-registered trucks arriving or transiting through its territory. The Belarusian Transport Ministry has announced that they have allowed the entry of oversized and humanitarian goods as well as cargo with some exceptions like medical goods, drugs that are both packed and unpacked, parts of components, raw materials and substances required for the production of drugs and medical products, human blood, organs and tissue, Interfax reported.

The decision of the Belarusian authorities comes as they had banned the entry into Belarus from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) border for trucks, which included tow trucks that had been registered in the European Union on April 16. However, restrictions on entry into Belarus have not been announced for trucks carrying mail and live animals, as per the Interfax report.

The decision on imposing a ban on the entry of EU trucks into Belarus was taken after European Union announced a ban on trucks registered in Russia and Belarus on April 8. Belarus government has announced that trucks registered in European Union can enter Belarus only through checkpoints in 14 areas that have been allowed for cargo operations and transit from April 16. Furthermore, the Belarusian government has asked the trucks registered in the EU to leave their territory before April 24. However, the government has not announced any restrictions for the cars and buses registered in the EU for travelling through its territory. 

Massive queue of trucks on Poland-Belarus border 

Earlier on April 17, a massive queue of trucks was formed on the Poland-Belarus border as Russian and Belarusian lorries were attempting to escape before a ban on their vehicles would take effect, Nexta reported. The line grew up to 80 kilometres, with some people stuck for more than 30 hours.

Notably, the European Union in the fifth package of sanctions, announced on April 8, imposed a ban on Russian and Belarusian transport which was carrying goods by road within the European Union, with exception of trucks carrying pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and food products. In addition, road transport for humanitarian efforts was allowed by the European Union. It is pertinent to note here that the EU has imposed sanctions against Belarus and Russia after Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24.

(Image: AP)