Tens of thousands of British householders offered to house Ukrainian refugees within hours of a sponsorship scheme being launched.
The UK Government set out details of a scheme on Monday allowing individuals and organisations to offer a home to refugees fleeing the invasion by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Communities Secretary Michael Gove announced the “Homes for Ukraine” initiative as the Government scrambled to make it easier for people to come to the UK following widespread criticism of its response so far.
More than 43,000 households have already offered to take in refugees from the war-torn country as part of the scheme, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
A spokesman said that figure was correct as of 9.30pm on Monday but was "continuing to rise".
He confirmed that the Homes For Ukraine website "temporarily stalled" after it went live late on Monday afternoon due to the "enormous generosity of the British public" in offering to take in those fleeing the conflict with Russia.
Almost three million people have fled Ukraine since Mr Putin ordered the Russian invasion and civilians continued to find themselves caught up in the fighting.
In the Commons, Mr Gove said the Ukrainian people were “the victims of savage, indiscriminate, unprovoked aggression” and “their courage under fire and their determination to resist inspires our total admiration”.
Previously only Ukrainians with family members already settled in the UK could come.
But under the new scheme, sponsors can provide a route for Ukrainians without family ties to come to the UK. There is no limit to numbers that could come, he said.
Mr Gove said “in recognition of their generosity” a tax-free monthly payment of £350 will be provided to people for each family they look after.
Sponsors can be of any nationality as long as they have permission to be in the UK for at least six months.
📣NEW - UK individuals, charities, community groups & businesses can now record their interest in supporting Ukrainians fleeing the war through our new Homes for Ukraine scheme.
— Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (@luhc) March 14, 2022
Express an interest in becoming a sponsor now ➡ https://t.co/Tnh1cpJEle#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/vbbINAz3XP
A new website launched on Monday allowing people to record their interest ahead of phase one of the scheme opening for applications for Friday.
It crashed temporarily due to numbers trying to access it, according to reports.
It came as cities in Ukraine were preparing for a fresh wave of attacks on Tuesday after further bombardment on Monday.
Air raid alerts sounded in cities and towns around the country, from near the Russian border in the east to the Carpathian Mountains in the west, and fighting continued on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces shelled several suburbs of the capital.
Ukrainian authorities said two people were killed when the Russians struck an airplane factory in Kyiv, sparking a large fire. The Antonov factory is Ukraine’s largest aircraft plant and produces many of the world’s biggest cargo planes.
Russian artillery fire also hit a nine-story apartment building in the northern Obolonskyi district of the city, killing two more people, authorities said.
And a Russian airstrike near a Ukrainian checkpoint caused extensive damage to a downtown Kyiv neighborhood, killing one person, Ukraine's emergency agency said.
In other developments on Monday an evacuation convoy of about 160 cars managed to leave the besieged city of Mariupol, authorities there said. Previous attempts to allow civilians to flee the southern city along humanitarian corridors failed as Russian attacks continued.
Deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video statement Ukraine was able to evacuate more than 4,000 people from front-line cities via seven humanitarian corridors.
She said three other humanitarian corridors did not operate successfully and she accused Russian forces of firing on civilians who were evacuating in the Kyiv region.
Meanwhile the potential for the conflict in Ukraine to trigger a wider clash between Russia and Nato was underlined over the weekend with a strike close to the border with Poland.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned it was “only a matter of time” before the alliance was struck following a Russian attack on a base less than 15 miles from the border with Nato member Poland.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he believed a direct attack on a Nato member was still “very unlikely”, but warned it would trigger a response from the alliance, which has a policy of mutual defence.
Mr Javid told BBC’s Today programme: “We’ve made it very clear to the Russians even before the start of this conflict.
“Even if a single Russian toecap steps into Nato territory, then it will be considered an act of war.”
The attack on the Yavoriv base, which has previously been used by Nato to train Ukrainian soldiers, was one of the western-most targets struck by Russia during the invasion.
Mr Zelensky, who spoke to Mr Johnson on Sunday, used the attack near the Polish frontier to renew his call for Nato allies to “close” the skies above Ukraine.
Downing Street said the strike so close to a Nato member is “deeply concerning” and that the UK is seeking to build the “broadest possible coalition” against the Russian aggression.
“These strikes are deeply concerning,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said. “We want everyone in the international community to condemn Putin’s barbaric acts.”
In other developments:
– Justice Secretary Dominic Raab visited The Hague on Monday to offer UK legal expertise and technical support to the International Criminal Court as it considers allegations of war crimes.
– The UK will supply Ukraine with more than 500 portable generators to provide energy for essential services, including at hospitals and shelters.
– NHS England will provide treatment for 21 Ukrainian children with cancer forced to flee Ukraine.
– The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill is expected to clear Parliament and become law, paving the way for dozens more oligarchs to be sanctioned.
– Protesters occupied a mansion belonging to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Belgravia, London.
– The Government is exploring whether properties linked to sanctioned Russians could be used to house refugees.
The escalation of the war in western Ukraine came as Mr Johnson was hosting leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), an alliance of northern European nations.
Representatives from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway were due to dine with Mr Johnson at his Chequers country retreat on Monday night before talks in London on Tuesday.
During his call with Mr Zelensky on Sunday, Mr Johnson “said the UK would continue to pursue more options for bolstering Ukraine’s self-defence” including at the JEF meeting.
