Government Support for Ukrainians

Debate between Martin Wrigley and Cameron Thomas

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Wrigley]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention and I absolutely agree.

I want briefly to mention another story. This is of Mariia and Ksenia in north Devon, written by their host Helen. I apologise for my Ukrainian pronunciation. They said:

“On 21 June Oleh Yurash age 28 was killed in Sumy in a missile strike. He was the husband of Liudmyla Yurash also 28 and father to Roman, four years old. Liudmyla is the sister of Mariia and Ksenia Yurash, my adult guests. He was almost unrecognisable. Mariia and Ksenia travelled back to Ukraine to attend his funeral. Liudmyla was also carer for their mother, who recently had a stroke.

The girls’ father wants them to stay in the UK, where Mariia and her daughter are safe from the war, especially as Mariia is a single mother and the Russians have been kidnapping children. Mila is settled in the only school she has known, starting year 3 in September.

Ksenia is studying in order to be able to go to university. There is little education in Ukraine at the moment. They have already lost a brother and their father is fighting for his country. The thing that keeps him going is that his two younger daughters are safe. I hope that you can get the Government to see that we need to carry on supporting our Ukrainian family.”

I asked the Prime Minister last week about extending the scheme, and the Home Secretary was asked about it in a Select Committee on 3 June. However, the situation is changing. Ukraine’s Government publicly changed their position in late May, asking all Governments where Ukrainians have sought safety and sanctuary since spring 2022 to provide them with a choice: to remain where their lives are being rebuilt or to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so.

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing forward this debate. Only last month I had a resident in my constituency office desperate to renew urgently the visa of the Ukrainian she was hosting. I am sure my hon. Friend will join me in saying that while the heroes of Ukraine fight Putin, for us as much as for them, we should stand guard over their families.

[Martin Wrigley]

The war seems further from ending—perhaps more protracted than ever. The EU clarified its position, extending temporary protection for all guests to March 2027 and requiring all member states to find ways for guests to have pathways to residency or settlement within those two years. The Home Secretary commented in a Select Committee that continuing the stability of education for children, university students and adults in training or apprenticeships is key and that enabling that continuity through housing and jobs is an important part of the Government’s support for Ukraine.

We need the Government to review the short-term nature of the Ukraine permission extension scheme urgently. Without urgent changes, we are at serious risk of putting thousands of Ukrainians—children as well as parents—into homelessness or worse, as the terms of their visas will be too short for them to carry on. We owe them much better treatment than we are currently giving them.