Fact check: Do 25% of UK hosts want to kick out Ukrainian refugees?

Russian state media have misleadingly claimed that many British families now regret hosting Ukrainian refugees.

False rumours have spread that more than 25% of UK hosts want to evict their Ukrainian guests after six months. 

Euronews has fact-checked the claims.

A July poll by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) surveyed over 7,000 families who have joined the British government’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme.

The programme — launched in March — allows Ukrainian families fleeing the Russian invasion to come to the UK if they have a designated volunteer or sponsor who can provide suitable accommodation.

By the end of July, more than 100,000 people from Ukraine have arrived in the UK, despite criticism from NGOs about the government’s scheme.

According to the ONS survey, 25% of respondents answered that they intended to house refugees for six months or fewer, while 37% said they were ready to accommodate families for one year or longer.

The polls do not survey or mention how many UK hosts may be tired of living with Ukrainian refugees or would want to expel them.

In fact, 30% of current or previous sponsors said that the rising cost of living had significantly affected their ability to provide support through the scheme.

Of those who planned to provide accommodation for between six months and one year, 70% of respondents said that continued monthly government payments would encourage them to host refugees for longer.

Meanwhile, 38% said more support for being a sponsor, in general, would encourage them to host for longer.

A spokesperson for ONS confirmed to Euronews that the Russian media wording was not what the survey showed.

The ONS did ask hosts what motivated them to apply under the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, and a huge 94% said they wanted to help people fleeing a war zone. 

Discrediting Ukrainian refugees in Europe has become a common theme for misinformation in recent weeks.

Euronews has previously fact-checked false claims that Ukrainian refugees set fire to a house in Germany and dragged away after blocking a major road in Italy.