Rafał Mekler is a far-right Politician from Poland with multifaceted interests. Privately, he operates a transport company and is accused of maintaining connections with Russian companies. According to Rafal, he has been implicated in political life since 2015, purportedly heading for the Polish Sejm. His political activities connect him with Russia and his business has significant ties to Russia and Belarus. From 2016 to 2019, he travelled to Russia and Belarus. Rafal Mekler is chair of the Podkarpacie structures of the Confederation in Poland and an activist of the National Movement, another smaller far-right party.
Most of the politicians from the Confederation party are associated with Russia. They are the leading proponents of blocking the Ukrainian border. This political force is taking benefit of the current political situation to gain popularity. The Confederates show themselves as defenders of Polish interests, but in fact, they only protect Putin’s interests.
On November 6 2023, Polish carriers started blocking the three border crossings with Ukraine. Among the demands to the Polish government are the return of passes for Ukrainian carriers; the introduction of strict transportation and border intersection rules for foreigners; and a prohibition on company registration in Poland, if its financial action takes place outside the territory of the EU. The Polish political force Confederation plays a key position in this blockade. This is a far-right party that combines several ideologically similar organizations. They call themselves defenders of the interests of ordinary Poles, farmers, and employees.
According to official data, the organiser of the action was the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers. The leader of the organization is Rafał Mekler the owner of the transport company Rafał Mekler Transport, which undertakes transportation to Russia and Belarus. Meklar also runs the Lublin branch of Confederation a Polish far-right party with a radically anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and links to Russia. The Confederation Party has an openly pro-Russian agenda. Its representatives counter-sanctions against Russia. Rafal Mekler and numerous party members have already been added to the “Myrotvorec” list.
Mekler is also a co-writer of the annual event
“Lublin March in Memory of the Volyn Massacre”.
According to the reports of researchers from the Guildhall, Russia may be involved in the blockade of the Ukrainian border by Polish carriers mandating “fair competition”. As of the end of November, the waiting time for trucks to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border is up to 10 days. According to Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach, Polish transporters that march on the border with Ukraine have repeatedly stopped the passage of tankers with fuel and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, despite the promise not to do so.
