Thousands Of Refugees Are Expected To Arrive In The UK, According To Charities
Thousands more migrants from Ukraine are expected to arrive in the UK, according to charities, equal the effort made following the violence in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
In a letter to the Times, Save the Children and Amnesty International, among others, stated that the UK should take the lead in offering refuge.
The United Nations has warned that Russia's invasion could result in the displacement of five million people.
However, they encountered severe traffic congestion, and bus and train systems were overburdened.
Air travel is no longer a possibility, as Western airlines are avoiding the country's airspace entirely, and Kyiv's international airport was apparently one of the first Russian targets.
Some people crossed the border into Poland and Hungary on foot, hauling their belongings in luggage.
Fuel, currency, and medical supplies are running low in parts of Ukraine, according to UN assistance agencies, which might force up to five million people to leave overseas.
At least 100,000 people have fled their homes, with thousands more crossing into neighboring countries such as Moldova, Romania, and Poland, according to UN refugee agency spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.
The Home Office stated that British nationals and their families were its top concern.
However, it stated that as the situation unfolds, it will engage with international partners on matters such as migration.
Thousands of Ukrainians attempted to evacuate the nation as the Russian attack continued with missile strikes, explosions, and fights between civilians and military fighters.
Ukraine's 44 million people outnumber some of its neighboring countries, such as Slovakia and Latvia, which each have a population of around two million people. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, Romania has a population of 20 million, and Hungary has a population of around 10 million.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the conflict's humanitarian consequences "threatens to be immense," but that the UK must do everything it can to help Ukraine's economy and governance.
The charities, which include the International Rescue Committee UK, the Refugee Council, and dozens of other humanitarian organizations, wrote that the attack in Ukraine might be "the most serious European conflict since the collapse of Yugoslavia" in their letter.