Britain’s Transport Secretary said 760 visas had been granted to Ukrainian refugees as the government came under fire for its refusal to ease entry restrictions.
EU member states scrapped visa requirements for Ukrainians following the Russian military offensive, but the UK ruled out relaxations, citing national security concerns.
“760 [visas have been] granted now, [and there are] 22,000 applications are being processed,” Grant Shapps told Sky News on Wednesday. “[Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky directly asked us for the humanitarian provision and . . . generally would prefer people to settle closer to Ukraine.
“He wants people to come back, which is very important when it comes to rebuilding this country after the war,” Shapps added.
The transport secretary said a center was being set up in the French city of Lille to help process visa applications.
Elsewhere, Poland’s proposal to transfer its fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via the United States suffered a setback when the Pentagon declared the project untenable.
“This [is] nothing to do with the British government, it’s between the Poles and the Americans,” Shapps said. “We are not involved in this particular loan idea and the Americans have said they will not do it that way.”
“Poland is in NATO, we are all working together on this, it is important that we are a defensive organization, which means that we will not be directly involved in the war,” he added.