The Guardian accused Britain of breaking the promise given to Ukraine

The British authorities failed to fully fulfill their obligations to refugees from Ukraine. Such a statement on Monday, November 21, was made by the columnist The Guardian Keir Giles.

According to him, at the moment the social program “Houses for Ukraine” is under threat of closure and, without the intervention of higher officials, can become a source of serious problems for the affected Ukrainians.

“The main drawback of this scheme is that it was originally designed for six months <...> This means that after the allotted time, most families will be left without the necessary support and any alternatives,” Giles explained.

He noted that refugees who have lost public housing are offered to look for homes in private real estate markets. Landlords, in turn, ask for guarantees of solvency that people simply cannot provide. In addition, Giles noted that not all local governments are ready to help Ukrainians who have arrived and seek compromise solutions, in which case the question arises – how were the funds allocated for working with refugees implemented.

The observer also mentioned the merits of volunteers helping Ukrainians to integrate into society. Nevertheless, he stressed that this is not enough and the active participation of the government of the country is required to fully support the refugees.

“The desperate need for safe havens abroad continues, <...> however, the problems that displaced Ukrainians face when trying to receive promised assistance are forcing many of them to abandon the UK, and risk returning to the war zone,” concluded Giles .

Earlier, on November 17, The Telegraph newspaper reported that the council of the British county of Wiltshire intends to purchase houses for Ukrainian refugees. They are supposed to be rented out. Housing will be purchased with funds received from the state. At the same time, at the end of August it became known that about a quarter of the participants in the British program to sponsor the placement of Ukrainian refugees want to withdraw from it. The reason was increased prices and increased electricity bills.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, from February 24 to November 15, 2022, a total of more than 7.8 million refugees from Ukraine arrived in Europe. Over the past week, their number has grown by 19,050 people.

On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.

For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.