Activists Occupy Luxury Biarritz Villa Owned by Putin’s Ex-Son-in-Law

THE GUARDIAN: Pair say they have changed locks and will offer property to Ukrainian refugees fleeing war

One of the activists on an upper-floor balcony of the Alta Mira villa in Biarritz with a Ukrainian flag. Photograph: YouTube
Two Russian activists have broken into and occupied a luxury villa in Biarritz owned by Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law.

Pierre Haffner, of the Svoboda Liberté Association, whose blog appears on the Mediapart news website, and Sergey Saveliev entered the eight-bedroom Alta Mira property in the French coastal resort, popular with Russian oligarchs. They announced on social media that they had changed the locks and would offer it to house Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

The property is said to belong to Kirill Shamalov, a Russian billionaire and former husband of Putin’s younger daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Haffner and Saveliev claimed to have found one of Shamalov’s passports and a translation of a Moscow electricity bill. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Monday, March 14, 2022

Deux squatteurs évacués de la villa basque de l’ex-gendre de Poutine : Les deux personnes interpellées ont été placées en garde à vue ce lundi pour «violation de domicile». »

‘They Are Frozen’: Poland Praised for Generous Welcome to 1m Ukrainians

THE GUARDIAN: Volunteers leading response to growing number of people fleeing Russian invasion, as country announces £1.3bn fund for refugees

People wait for transportation after fleeing from Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, on Monday. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images
More than 1 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Polish border guard has said.

Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.

“Traffic on the Polish-Ukrainian border is growing, today at 7am, 42,000 people arrived in Poland from Ukraine,” the border guard tweeted on Monday. Most people arriving in Poland have found short-term accommodation provided by citizens and private businesses.

Poland has announced plans to set up an 8bn zloty (£1.34bn) fund for people fleeing Ukraine, including the provision of a one-off payment of 300 zloty (£50) for each refugee. » | Karen McVeigh | Monday, March 7, 2022

Ukrainian refugees, meet Britain’s ‘hostile environment’. We should be ashamed: You could hardly imagine a frostier welcome for these desperate people. The comparison with Europe tells you everything »

France Accuses UK of ‘Lack of Humanity’ over Ukrainian Refugees

THE GUARDIAN: French interior minister writes to Priti Patel urging government to set up proper consular services in Calais

France’s interior minister has accused the British government of showing a “lack of humanity” when it comes to helping the Ukrainian refugees who have fled the Russian invasion and are now waiting in Calais for permission to join their families in the UK.

Hundreds of Ukrainians have come to the northern French port in the last few days in the hope of crossing the Channel so they can be with relatives who are already established in the UK.

According to the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, 400 Ukrainian refugees have presented themselves at Calais border crossings in recent days – only for 150 of them to be told to go away and obtain visas at UK consulates in Paris or Brussels.

In a letter to the UK home secretary, Priti Patel, Darmanin called on the British government to set up a proper consular service in Calais, adding that its response so far was “completely unsuitable” and showed a “lack of humanity“ towards refugees who were often “in distress”. » | Sam Jones, Amelia Gentleman and Aubrey Allegretti | Sunday, March 6, 2022