UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says country will ‘of course’ welcome Ukrainian refugees

After some strong back and forth over how the UK will handle Ukrainian refugees, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed this weekend that the United Kingdom will “of course” take in refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.

Johnson’s comments come after the Labour party criticized the government for its failure to relax visa restrictions amid the Ukraine crisis. When asked what the UK would do to help, Johnson answered that his country is, “of course” going to take refugees and committed to helping people “fleeing in fear of their lives.”

The Prime Minister compared the situation to the UK’s handling of Afghan refugees who fled their home last year when the US withdrew and the Taliban took rule. “Of course we’re going to take refugees. This country’s had a historic and proud role in taking refugees from all conflicts,” Johnson said. “And if you think what we did in Afghanistan, for instance, the UK was way out in front.”

Johnson said during a visit to Birmingham, “We’ve sent 1,000 troops to the theatre, to be ready to help with the influx.” As of Sunday night, the United Nations estimated there are about 368,000 Ukrainian refugees so far, with thousands more waiting to be received into Poland and the European Union.