Metal shutters at a British “pop-up” processing centre in Northern France show how Britain is seemingly closed to Ukraine’s desperate refugees.
The local government building in Arras is meant to help refugees who left behind their passports under Russian bombing.
But despite Home Secretary Priti Patel promising to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with victims of Putin’s war, the Bureaux de la Prefecture was closed when we visited on Saturday.
The Home Office said it was “open for appointments”, not people walking in, but a staff member told us no applications from Ukrainian nationals had been processed all day.
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And refugees said another centre in Paris was also shut for the weekend – the Home Office insisted it had been open from 9am to noon on Saturday but would be closed on Sunday.
Meanwhile refugees – many already confused about where they can apply to get into Britain – were being left with nowhere to turn.
Ukrainian-born British citizen Victoria Perebeynis, 53, had been trying to get her extended family, including two 75-year-old women, to her home in Oxford after collecting them from the Polish border.
They’ve now been homeless for two weeks, with fears her cousin Valentina Pronina, 75, could die before she reaches the UK after she lost consciousness on the way to a Parisian visa centre.
Victoria said: “We cannot wait two more days, refugees do not have a break at the weekends, this is a constant reality.
“When we went to Paris we were told to leave and come back to the office on Monday.
“I am terrified. I am not sure Valentina is even going to make it to the UK before she has a stroke, before she dies.”
The visa centre was originally opened by the Government in Lille, where many refugees congregated, but then moved it to Arras 40 miles away "to better facilitate referrals from Calais".
Many families, including Victoria’s, are housed in budget accommodation in the Lille suburb of Tourcoing.
At the Hotel Lemon – where Red Cross volunteers are handing out food and clothes – there were believed to be 30 people who had fled the conflict.
Also caught in visa chaos was Yulia Smernova, 41, who was trying to reach her mum in London.
Yulia, who was in her final year of medical school, spent the first three days of the conflict in a bomb shelter on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Her 16-year-old daughter was with her on the week-long journey through Europe via Moldova, but her son, 19, was forced to stay.
She has since discovered her home in the suburb of Borodyanka was destroyed by shelling.
She said: “I got an email today to say my visa application has been received, but I don’t know if I’ve been accepted.
“We have left everything we own. My mum has lived in London since 2019, we just want to be able to join her.”
Bookkeeper Maria Panteluk, also 41, arrived on Friday after a gruelling 48-hour car journey from Lviv.
She wants to join friends in London who have agreed to house her and son Mikhail, 16, who is on his way to Lille in a separate vehicle.
Unlike other European countries, the UK has yet to open a scheme which would allow Ukrainians without family ties to come here.
Maria said: “I don’t have relatives but I have friends. I have an education, I will work, I will pay taxes.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We have expanded our visa application capacity to 13,000 a week, deployed additional staff across the EU, with a 24/7 helpline in place to ensure those who need appointments can get them.
“This allows us to balance security risks while welcoming those in need.
“A new sponsorship route, which will allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come here, is also being brought forward.”
