Ukraine: Boris's open letter to children 'galling and hypocritical', say sponsors

A couple trying to sponsor a refugee boy stuck in Holland say Boris Johnson's open letter to Ukrainian children is "galling and hypocritical".

Seventeen-year-old Andrii has been "in limbo" in the Netherlands for two months with his sponsor Joseph Kleijnen due to visa processing delays.

He said he felt "forgotten" after Mr Johnson told the children of Ukraine "we in the UK will never forget you".

The government said it was "doing all we can to support new arrivals".

"I don't see any deeds that are actually approving what he said in that letter," said the teenager, whose parents are both military doctors in Ukraine.

"I haven't heard anything from the United Kingdom in the past two months."

Mr Kleijnen, 59, who lives in Sunk Island, East Yorkshire, with his wife Jeanette, 56, added: "[They are] very empty words.

"It would be much more helpful if Andrii and the many, many other children who are in his position would actually get their visa and be in a safe and secure place."

Andrii fled Ukraine alone hours after bombs landed near his hometown of Volodymyr-Volynskyi, the same day the couple applied to sponsor him under the Homes4Ukraine scheme.

Mr Kleijnen flew to Amsterdam on 22 March to collect him after submitting a visa application and the pair have since been stuck in the Dutch country.

All three said they were "fed up, frustrated and just really disillusioned with this whole process", with Mrs Kleijnen describing it as being "an abyss".

She said Wednesday was the first time they had received any communication from the Home Office, which informed them Andrii's application had "now been passed to the decision-making centre".

"What that means and what the next step is, we have no idea," she said. "I don't know what the end is."

In a letter tweeted on Monday, the prime minister told the children of Ukraine "you are not alone".

"It was galling to read the letter that Boris Johnson penned," said Mrs Kleijnen.

"What does that mean if we can't help somebody who's got a valid application and he's trying to get into this country with valid sponsors who've been checked and our home has been checked.

"We have everything in place and nothing is happening.

"It's frustrating, it's hypocritical and it's irritating and I'm trying not to get angry."

The couple, who were appointed as Andrii's guardians, said they thought the visa application would be processed quicker in the Netherlands than in Ukraine's neighbouring country, Poland.

The Home Office said: "115,000 visas have now been issued showing the work we've done to speed up the process is working and improving daily."

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].