A SERIES of events to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion will demonstrate Scotland’s solidarity with Ukraine, the minister for refugees has said.
MSP Neil Gray also said displaced Ukrainians are being supported to access GPs and dentists in Scotland, following concerns raised by the country’s consul in Edinburgh.
A number of events in Edinburgh and elsewhere will take place in the run-up to February 24, the date when the full-scale war began last year.
Gray, the Scottish Government minister with special responsibility for Ukrainian refugees, spoke to Holyrood’s External Affairs committee on Thursday.
He said events in the Scottish Parliament will begin on the Tuesday before the anniversary, with a special debate planned.
Wreath-laying, church services and processions will take place across Scotland, he added.
Gray said: “There’s going to be a number of events that will hopefully allow the people that are here from Ukraine to see the solidarity of feeling that there is here from Scotland.
“But also, I hope, to remind people across Scotland that the war continues.”
More than 22,000 people from Ukraine have arrived in Scotland through private sponsors of the Government’s super-sponsor scheme.
But in January, Ukraine’s head of consulate in Edinburgh, Andrii Kusli, said some refugees were being forced to travel as far as Poland for dental treatment due to difficulties accessing care in Scotland.
Asked about this, Gray said: “Support services that are on board the ships (housing refugees) or in hotels or advice to hosts in terms of how people should register with doctors and dentists is readily available.
“If there has been a breakdown for some individuals, in that case that is obviously unfortunate.
“It would be unacceptable if there wasn’t a clear pathway for people to register with a doctor.
“But those support services are in place, they’re entitled to register with doctors and dentists the same as any other Scottish resident.”
