French president Emmanuel Macron has lashed out at the UK Government for failing to live up to its “grand statements” on helping Ukrainian refugees. Speaking at the end of an EU summit, Mr Macron reportedly criticised Britain’s visa policy which required applicants to make them in person in Brussels or Paris.
His comments came as the Government intends to further ramp up pressure on the Kremlin. In an update on Saturday morning, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said fighting to the north-west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv continued, with the bulk of Russian ground forces now about 25 kilometres from its centre.
The French president said this further exacerbated circumstances for those fleeing the war, according to newspaper reports. He added: “Despite all the grand statements… the British government continued to apply current rules that meant they did not welcome Ukrainian refugees who wanted to reach British soil saying they have to travel hundreds of kilometres in order to apply for a visa.
