Archbishop of Canterbury calls on government to do more for Ukrainians

Archbishop Justin Welby welcomed the government’s decision to extend visas to three years from 12 months for Ukrainian people, but said there should be a visa-free approach.

His comments came yesterday during his visit to Sussex while at All Saints Church in The Drive, Hove, where he met refugees and the Network for International Women, which is a support group for women.

It was his first official visit to the Diocese of Chichester since he was inaugurated archbishop.

• READ MORE: Archbishop of Canterbury attends churches in the city to meet refugees

More than 1.3 million people have fled Ukraine to countries across Europe since Russia’s invasion began 11 days ago on February 24.

Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” to Russian citizens in the early hours of that Thursday.

Since then, sanctions have been put in place on Russia, including the freezing of Vladimir Putin’s foreign assets and the exclusion of a number of Russian banks from the Swift international payments system.

Over one million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since the invasion began - picture from PA

Archbishop Justin said the government should "do more" to welcome these “deeply traumatised” people into the country.

He said: “I think more needs to be done. Places like Ireland which is not a huge country have gone for the visa free entry. Yes there is security issues but you can manage those in different ways.

“We can’t make huge supportive statements unless we let refugees in, there is one million now outside of Ukraine. Three year visas are okay, it’s a start but don’t say 20,000 or 50,000 in, we need to talk about 200,000 plus people for the moment.

• READ MORE: Ukraine invasion could exacerbate cost-of-living crisis (what will this mean for Brighton)

“We’re among the richest countries in the world. These are people that are highly educated, highly motivated, deeply traumatised and totally not at fault from a European culture with a deep Christian faith.”

In terms of what the Church of England can do, Archbishop Justin said they will be “working hard” to help refugees.

He said: “I think there is more impact we can have, churches are working very hard. The diocese in Europe are making a big appeal, opening up churches all around the Ukraine in order to receive refugees. Here as well in the UK, we will be working hard too.”

Archbishop Justin met with refugees and the Network of International Women yesterday at All Saints Church in Hove

He also called for people to pray regardless of whether they are religious or not.

Archbishop Justin said: “Look fairly and squarely at the situation. If you’re a person who prays, then pray. If you’re a person who doesn’t pray, then pray.

“I would say definitely put your concerns and anxieties in the hands of God, recognise that we don’t have control over it. But look at what you can do and do it. That will make you feel better and give you a sense of security.

“What you don’t want to do is sit there like a rabbit in the headlights. It’s easy to do, a lot of us can feel like that. Just because you can’t do everything, it doesn’t mean you should do nothing at all.”

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