LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday the first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda would leave in 10-12 weeks, as he set out plans for for his flagship policy to tackle illegal migration.
Speaking at a press conference, Sunak said he would not outline the exact operational details of the plan, but said the government had made specific preparations.
“I can confirm that we’ve put an airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots, and we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda with 300 more trained in the coming weeks,” Sunak said.
“We are ready. Plans are in place. And these flights will go come what may.”
Under the timeline Sunak set out, the first flight would leave in July.
Sunak also said he was “confident” that the plan complied with all of Britain’s international obligations, responding to a question about its membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“If it ever comes to a choice between our national security — securing our borders — and membership of a foreign court, I’m, of course, always going to prioritize our national security,” he said, referring to the European Court of Human Rights.
UK’s Sunak says first migrant flight to Rwanda will leave in 10-12 weeks
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UK’s Sunak says first migrant flight to Rwanda will leave in 10-12 weeks
- Prime minister ‘confident’ that the plan complies with all of Britain’s international obligations
Ukraine says received 1,003 bodies from Russia
- The Russian side had received the remains of 26 killed Russian soldiers
KYIV: Kyiv said on Friday that it had received from Russia more than 1,000 remains of people that Moscow said were Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting the Kremlin’s army.
The exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of killed soldiers is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“Today, repatriation activities took place. 1,003 bodies, which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine,” Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said in a statement on social media.
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky confirmed an exchange between Moscow and Kyiv had taken place, writing on Telegram that the Russian side had received the remains of 26 killed Russian soldiers.
Medinsky said the exchange was made possible as part of agreements struck between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul earlier this year.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since Russia invaded, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.
