How the UK is helping Ukraine
Many people in the UK are showing their support for the people of Ukraine by finding ways to help those affected by the invasion. The Government has introduced ways to help Ukrainian people who have left their homes to escape the fighting.
What is the Government doing?
The UK Government has said it will provide £220 million in emergency aid for
Ukraine. It also said that some family members of British citizens who live in Ukraine can come to the UK. When The Week Junior went to press, these included parents, grandparents, children over 18 years old and siblings of those who live in the
UK. However, many people say the Government is not doing enough.
Why are people calling for more to be done?
People are calling on the UK Government to do more to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the country. Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homes because of war or the threat of violence. At the moment, Ukrainian refugees who are not close relatives of British citizens cannot come to the UK very easily. Some people believe that all Ukrainians fleeing should be welcomed to the UK.
What are people in the UK doing?
People around the UK have been raising money and giving clothes, bedding and medical supplies to charities to send to Ukrainian refugees in countries in eastern Europe. In Yorkshire, England, a woman called Magdalena Timmins put out a call asking for donations. Within a few days she had received enough items to fill three large lorries. “It’s overwhelming,” Timmins told the Guardian newspaper.
There have also been calls not to be unkind to Russian people. One mother, Yvette, wrote on social media, “It is important to teach children that we must not hate the people of Russia, Ukraine or anywhere else for fighting. We are all human beings.” A Russian person who lives in the UK wrote on social media, “Nobody wants war. War means losses on both sides.”