Ukraine is in talks with Poland and Slovakia about moving customs checks on grain trucks off its own border and onto EU soil. The reason is Russian drones. Trucks that wait for days to clear customs have become a target, and Kyiv wants them away from the frontier.
The Financial Times reported the talks on October 23, and Reuters and several Ukrainian outlets followed. Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, told the FT the plan comes from a "new security environment where Russia is deliberately trying to strike our borders," and said Kyiv wants to finalize an agreement with Poland as soon as possible. Ukraine already runs joint border control points with Moldova and wants to scale that model up.
Poland is more cautious. Its Interior Ministry confirmed that border guards from both countries met at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing to discuss the idea, but said no political decision has been taken, and that the European Commission would need to approve any arrangement because of Schengen rules. No inspection site, start date or procedure has been published.
Why the queues matter
The pressure on Ukraine's land routes has built quickly. In September, according to the European Commission, around 90% of Ukraine's exports of grain, oilseeds and related products went through the EU's Solidarity Lanes, the road, rail and river routes set up in 2022, with around 10% going by the Black Sea. In July it was roughly the other way around, with around 80% going by sea.
Even with those routes running hard, Ukraine's agriculture minister, Taras Vysotskyi, said the country exported 2.4 million tonnes of agricultural products in September, only 46% of its potential. Grain was 1.4 million tonnes of that, or 38% of potential. He described 45% to 50% as the realistic ceiling on current routes without full access to the Black Sea ports.
Road is the smallest of those routes. By the ministry's numbers it carried about 5% of September's agricultural exports, against 54% through the Danube ports and 41% by rail. But it's where the strain is easiest to see. On the morning of October 21, Ukraine's eCherha electronic queue showed loaded trucks at Yahodyn-Dorohusk facing an estimated wait of 8 days and 19 hours. Polish border authorities have also warned that Russian attacks on western Ukraine are disrupting freight clearance at Dorohusk, Hrebenne, Korczowa and Medyka, because Ukrainian inspections stop whenever an attack threatens the border area.
A truck parked for a week near a border that's being targeted is a very different risk from a truck on the move. Damage to the goods themselves is a matter for your cargo policy and your marine broker. Our focus is the other side of the deal, which is whether you still get paid.
Where trade credit insurance fits
Trade credit insurance protects the receivable. It responds when a covered buyer can't or won't pay, whether because it becomes insolvent or because it stays in default past the policy's waiting period. Many export policies also cover political causes of non-payment, such as war, currency transfer restrictions or government action that stops the buyer from paying.
Cover is priced and limited country by country. Allianz Trade, Atradius, Coface and Credendo all publish country risk assessments, and cover on buyers in or near an active conflict is often restricted, or only available on tighter terms. If you sell into the region, it's worth checking what your current policy says about those countries before you take the next order, rather than after.
When supply stalls, payment risk follows
The less obvious risk sits with your customers. If they're food processors, feed mills or traders that depend on Ukrainian grain, a stalled supply chain can squeeze their margins and their cash. A buyer that has paid on time for years can start stretching terms, asking for bigger lines or paying in pieces. That kind of slow pressure usually shows up well before a missed payment does.
This is where credit limits and active buyer monitoring do their most useful work. Insurers track buyers across many suppliers and markets, and when a carrier reduces or withdraws a limit on a name, that's information you can act on before you ship more product. It's also a good reason to look at concentration. One large buyer that relies heavily on Ukrainian supply is a very different risk from a spread of smaller ones.
Where political risk insurance responds
Political risk insurance is built for events a credit policy may not reach. Depending on the wording, it can cover political violence, including war, damaging insured assets; confiscation or expropriation; currency inconvertibility; and contract frustration, where a government action such as an export ban, an embargo or a license cancellation stops a contract from being performed.
For a buyer that has prepaid for Ukrainian grain, that last point matters. Some policies, depending on their wording, may respond when a prepaid shipment never arrives because of a covered political event. These are tailored policies, though, and the wording decides everything: which events trigger cover, how delay is treated, and what happens if the seller can't perform for commercial reasons.
For US exporters, EXIM is also worth a look. Its export credit insurance covers both commercial and political risks of non-payment, and its Country Limitation Schedule shows where, and on what terms, it can support a transaction before you quote.
What we'd look at now
If you sell to buyers tied to Ukrainian supply, or trade with the region directly, a few questions are worth asking now.
Which of your buyers depend on Ukrainian grain, and are your credit limits on them still right?
Has any buyer started asking for longer terms, bigger lines or payment plans?
What does your trade credit policy say about non-payment caused by political events, and about cover on countries at war or next to one?
If you've prepaid a supplier, is that advance protected against political events, or only against commercial failure?
We don't expect the queues to clear quickly, even if Poland and Slovakia agree to move the checks. Nothing has been signed yet, and an inland inspection site could simply move the wait somewhere else. Either way, it's much easier to sort out where your receivables stand before a buyer slows down than after.
We also walk through this in a short video: [Ukraine's Grain Trucks: When Supply Risk Becomes Payment Risk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBXFSYiESfE)
If you'd like a second look at how your trade credit and political risk cover fit together, we're always happy to help. Talk to Impello.
This article is general information, not advice on any specific policy, buyer or shipment. Coverage depends on the actual policy wording.
Sources: Financial Times, "Ukraine seeks to move customs checks inside EU to avoid Russian drones," October 23, 2026, as reported by Reuters, October 23, 2026; Poland-24, citing Poland's Interior Ministry (via Interia) and the Polish border information service notice of October 23, 2026; European Commission, "Solidarity Lanes: Latest figures, September 2026," October 19, 2026, and July 2026 figures; Ukraine Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, briefing by Taras Vysotskyi, October 2, 2026, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, Interfax-Ukraine and UNN; eCherha queue data, October 21, 2026, as reported by UNIAN and Kurs.com.ua.
