The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 1130 dated September 17, 2026, regarding the opening of a new international automobile checkpoint on the border with Romania. The "Bila Tserkva – Sighetu Marmatiei" crossing will operate around the clock and is designed to relieve the neighboring, critically congested "Solotvyno – Sighetu Marmatiei" direction.
Operating Regulations and Crossing Rules
The new checkpoint is located in the village of Bila Tserkva (Tyachiv District, Zakarpattia Oblast) around the new road bridge across the Tisa River.
At the initial stage, the facility will operate with strict logistics restrictions:
- Allowed: movement exclusively of passenger transport (cars) with a maximum authorized mass of up to 3.5 tonnes.
- Prohibited: passage of pedestrians, passenger buses, and trucks.
- Throughput capacity: processing of up to 600–700 passenger cars per day in 24/7 mode is expected.
Launch Under a Temporary Scheme
The legal basis for the opening was a bilateral intergovernmental agreement in the form of an exchange of notes dated August 19, 2026. The government allowed the facility to be launched as a legal exception to the general Regulations on Checkpoints, without waiting for 100% readiness of capital buildings, in order to immediately relieve border traffic.
Customs and border clearance is currently carried out through temporary modular structures and containers. Contractors have already completed the arrangement of access roads, transport lanes, control zones, and have also strengthened the river bank and supplied the necessary utilities. The State Border Guard Service and the State Customs Service have been instructed to promptly deploy staff directly at the construction site.
Project Prospects and Strategic Significance
Full completion of the large-scale infrastructure complex is planned for November 2027. The regional integration development project with a budget of over 842,000 euros (including EU grant funds) provides for the expansion of the bridge and large-scale reconstruction of the adjacent T-07-37 highway (Khust – Shayan – Vyshkovo – Bushtyno). After the final commissioning of the facility, the checkpoint will be able to process 400 trucks and 80 buses daily.
The launch of the "Bila Tserkva – Sighetu Marmatiei" crossing is an important step in expanding western logistics. This is already the fifth automobile checkpoint opened on borders with EU countries since the full-scale invasion (after "Dyakivtsi", "Krasnoilsk", "Nyzankovychi", and "Velika Palad"). The development of protected western routes is critically necessary against the background of systematic Russian attacks on logistics infrastructure in the south of Ukraine (in particular, recent drone strikes on the "Orlivka" and "Starokozache" checkpoints).
Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
See also: