Britain and Poland will build two temporary villages in western and central Ukraine to provide housing for those forced from their homes by Russia's invasion, London said on Tuesday, pledging 10 million pounds ($12.3 million) in funding.
Almost 118,000 Ukrainians have been hosted by British families as part of the government's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion, but some are finding it increasingly difficult to get permanent housing.
Britain's government said the villages in Lviv in western Ukraine and Poltava in central Ukraine would be able to house more than 700 people, a fraction of the millions either displaced in Ukraine or who have fled the country.
"For the past year, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has continued to target civilian homes and infrastructure, with the Ukrainian people paying a heavy price," British foreign minister James Cleverly said in a statement.
"This new UK-Poland partnership will help bring light, heat and homes to those most in need."
Dozens of damaged apartments
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday (March 27) visited residential blocks in Zaporizhzhia damaged by Russian rockets on March 22.
Local authorities told Zelenskiy that the supporting structures of one of the entrances were damaged, a presidential press release said, and dozens of apartments remained uninhabitable.
Zelenskiy visited the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, his third trip to the front line in less than a week.
He awarded soldiers and discussed nuclear safety with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who also traveled to the area, home to Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces for the past year.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters