Russian aggression has created trouble for cargo carriers. 11 vehicles of five Latvian carriers have remained in Ukraine, but all Latvian national drivers have left. About 10 Latvian carrier drivers with Ukrainian or Belarusian citizenship have stayed on Ukrainian territory.
While road transport to Russia and Belarus continues, there is a marked decrease in volume. Last week, compared to a week earlier, the number of permits for freight transport to Belarus has fallen by 20%, to Russia by 33%.
“Transport is difficult because it is up to 10-12 days on the border with Latvia to travel from Russia. It's not even hours, it's days,” Godiņš said. On the other hand, the line from Belarus is 4-6 days. Consequently, transport in these directions is expensive. Some drivers don't want to go to these destinations.
The reasons for long queues on these borders are the high number of vehicles. “Some are trying to leave Russia and Belarus due to risks to both security and business,” Godiņš said.
