Wearing Out Their Welcome...

Poland had failed to fully realise that Ukrainians were not just helpless victims of Vladimir Putin, but actual people with agency. As soon as they could, many Ukrainian refugees moved out of their hosts’ living rooms and rented or bought apartments. They set up businesses, many of which are now flourishing, and created a robust community, often engaging in direct competition with local people. They refused to behave as grateful or passive recipients of Polish charity. This is an understandable, indeed desirable progression, but as a result, compassion ceased to be the currency of the relationship between Poles and Ukrainians.

Funny that, when you realise you've been taken for a ride all along.... 

Accustomed to direct talks with US and western European leaders, Ukranians do not need an “advocate”, certainly not in Warsaw. Zelenskyy can run his own show.

Yes, he's doing a bang-up job, isnt he? 

Memory politics has unhelpfully reared its head after Volodymyr Zelenskyy named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a branch of which massacred about 100,000 Poles in 1943. The Polish right responded in kind, and the president, Karol Nawrocki, revoked Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle, the highest state honour available to non-Poles. Both sides refused to back down, returning further honours and pretty much freezing mutual relations.

Just one more example of why you shouldn't elect a failed tv comedian with no geopolitic nous as head of state... 

Such an outcome could and should have been avoided, especially by Donald Tusk’s liberal governing coalition.

The EU screwing up again? You don't say... 

Poland’s shortsightedness is a cautionary tale.

Realising you've been taken for mugs always comes later in the day - it's what you do about it for the future that count! 

Ukrainian leaders will come to Brussels, Paris and Berlin, asking not for free bullets and money, but for an equal voice, arguing that their defence of the continent against Russian barbarism has earned them a seat at the table.

Pot says, 'Hey Kettle, you've got a real good tan'...

Hopefully Poland won't rush to support that bid...

Then Claw It Back!

More than £300m given to English councils to help Ukrainian refugees into accommodation has not been spent, while thousands of them face homelessness. Freedom of information requests to 150 councils in England, shared with the Guardian, identified that £327m – about a third of the £1bn budget – was still sitting in council bank accounts more than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine.

So get it back - Rachel Thieves needs every penny she can get her clumsy hands on, doesn’t she?  

Most of the funds councils have spent have been used to pay staff and partner organisations. Only £22m has been spent on temporary accommodation for Ukrainians and £15m to help them into private rented accommodation.

So the councils are just sitting on the cash? Why? Do they get to spend the interest earned on other things?  

Baljeet Nijjhar of UKrainian Refugee Help, who obtained and collated the FoI data, said: “Local councils are allocated thousands of pounds per Ukrainian arrival, yet the guests we support seem to struggle to access this directly when in need. “The most common issue is inability to rent privately and people often don’t know anyone in the UK who could act as a guarantor, so it’s the local council that they must rely on here to solve this problem. “Our research shows that many councils have significant levels of funds left, but have helped very few people to rent, whereas others have demonstrated a ‘can do’, proactive approach and have helped significantly more.”

Is this just usual local council incompetence or are they benefiting from this in some way? 

Dr Krish Kandiah, the director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which provides support for Ukrainian refugees, praised the British public for their hospitality. “It is now vital that the UK builds on that generosity by ensuring that every Ukrainian has the security and dignity of their own front door,” he said.

Personally, I think it’s vital that they ensure that every Brit has that before we look at providing it for foreigners.