The 50 young travellers, who range in age between two and 19, and their carers were due to fly from Poland to London on Monday.
21 March 2022
A group of Ukrainian orphans due to fly to the UK after fleeing war in their home country are stuck in Poland after a key piece of paperwork was not provided in time.
The 50 young travellers, who range in age between two and 19, and their carers were due to fly from Warsaw to London on Monday, before making their way up to Scotland later in the week.
However, before the plane left Heathrow Airport, a form that should have been sent by the Ukrainian government to the Polish Ministry of Family and Social Policy, needed to release the group, was not sent in time.
It is now said that the Virgin flight will not take place before Wednesday, with organisers looking at alternative options.
Although agreement on providing sanctuary in Scotland has been agreed and announced by the UK Govt last Thursday not all the paper work has been signed off on. The welfare of the children must come first. I will work with all to make sure this is brought to a safe conclusion. https://t.co/76hFfaKw22
— Ian Blackford 🇺🇦🏴 (@Ianblackford_MP) March 21, 2022
The children and their carers are now awaiting the next flight in a hotel.
It came after Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on Thursday that the youngsters, who are being cared for by the Scottish charity Dnipro Kids, which was set up by supporters of Edinburgh’s Hibernian Football Club, had been given the green light to travel to Britain.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who was due to join the flight, told the PA news agency: “We’ve been up against a race against time to get the paperwork that needs to be in place signed off on and there’s been a delay on that.
“So, for the time being, it means that nothing is going to happen today.
“I think the key thing is that a lot of people will determine everything is done to support the orphans that are currently in Poland.
“That has always been the first and last concern of all of this, so we’ll continue to work with everybody to make sure that arrangements can be put in place to give the children that sanctuary in Scotland.”
Dnipro Kids was set up in 2005 after football fans visited local orphanages when Hibernian played against the Ukrainian team Dnipro FC.
The youngsters were due to spend Tuesday sightseeing in London, before heading to rural Stirlingshire on Wednesday.
The kids are ready to go… pic.twitter.com/5SsIeUQa7d
— Dnipro Kids Appeal (@DniproKids) March 21, 2022
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is deeply troubling that these children have been caught up in (Vladimir) Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“It is right that we only move these children once we have the full, written agreement of their home and host governments.
“The Home Secretary and her counterparts in the Ukrainian, Polish and Scottish Government are united in their determination to ensure these children get the support and care they need.”
