Almost $6B of farm machinery destroyed in Ukraine since war started

Ukraine takes bombed farm machinery to Polish border protests

Over 181,000 units of agricultural machinery valued at a staggering $5.8 billion (U.S.) have been destroyed in Ukraine since Russia waged its war there two years ago.

Combines, tractors, tillage and grassland equipment have all been bombed or set alight by the Russians placing a heavy financial burden on Ukraine’s farmers.

Several loads of these destroyed machines have been placed at the border between Ukraine and Poland in a bid to soften tensions during the ongoing protests by Polish farmers there.

Members of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) offloaded burnt out tractors, trucks and combines destroyed by the occupiers at the Krakivets-Korczowa checkpoint so that the Polish protesters could see the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine with their own eyes.

“Our goal is to show our Polish colleagues the circumstances in which we have been working for two years,” said Andriy Dykun, head of the Ukrainian Agri Council.

“The machinery of our farmers, which we brought from different regions of Ukraine, was destroyed by the Russian invaders. It was blown up in Ukrainian fields, shelled by artillery, and burned by the occupiers.

“Behind every combine or tractor there is a tragic history of the farm, sometimes with human losses. We pay a very high price for each grain.”

AG LOSSES

According to the latest estimates of the World Bank, the total losses and damages of the Ukrainian agricultural sector over the two years of war have increased to $80 billion. This is in addition to the daily losses caused by the blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border.

The UAC has urged its Polish colleagues to consider the facts, not Russian propaganda, because Poland loses more than Ukraine from the ongoing border blockade.

UAC said that In the first year of the war alone, Polish exports to Ukraine almost reached $10 billion for the first time, and in 2023 they amounted to $6.6 billion. These results are significantly higher than Ukraine’s exports to Poland.

However, due to the blockade of the border, both countries are now losing millions of dollars, which in the case of Ukraine is critical for the survival of small and medium-sized farmers, who make up 65% of the entire agricultural sector.

“We understand that the situation of Polish farmers is difficult, but it is not Ukraine’s fault. There is an overproduction of grain on the world markets,” Dykun said.

“In the EU alone, the surplus of wheat is 36 million tonnes, and since last year’s harvest, it has fallen in price by 25 percent. This is compounded by a huge oversupply from Russia.

“According to the estimates of Polish colleagues, Russian grain exports to Europe increased by 23 percent per month in the second half of 2023, while Ukrainian grain exports fell by 13 percent.”

Ukrainian farmers emphasized that their Polish colleagues do not realize that if Ukraine loses the war, Poland will be threatened by Russian aggression, and then European farmers will think not about grain prices but about how to save their land.

The UAC says it calls on their Polish colleagues to engage in democratic dialogue and unity for victory.

A UAC statement added: “Aggressive political slogans provoked by the aggressor country should not stand in the way of our common European values and steps towards a united European community.”