Johnson warns that Ukrainians who arrive in the UK illegally could be deported to Rwanda

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June 24. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has warned that those Ukrainians who arrive in the country illegally may be subject to deportation and be sent to Rwanda in full controversy over the agreement between the two countries, which has also run into the refusal of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Johnson had clarified on previous occasions that Ukrainian citizens would not be affected by the agreement, which in principle allows the British authorities to send asylum seekers who cross the English Channel to the African country.

“The only circumstances in which asylum seekers can be sent to Rwanda is if they arrive in the UK illegally, which undermines the security and legal routes we have. We are giving around 130,000 visas to Ukrainians and they have at least two good routes to get to the country”, he explained.

However, he has clarified that “if they come illegally, they go over all those who do it legally”, so, “in theory, they could be deported”. “In any case, I think this is very unlikely,” he said, according to information from the newspaper ‘The Guardian’.

Johnson traveled to Rwanda on Thursday, where he has met with the country’s authorities and has urged NATO and the G7 countries to avoid agreeing to a “bad peace” for Ukraine. In this sense, he has clarified that it is important that the end of the war does not imply “ceding territory” of Ukraine to Russia.