Where I differ is that I don't think countries like UK/other should be shamed for taking a different approach at all.It's never charity if it's forced.Yes, the first & second "waves" of people who flee during wartime are upper-middle class citizens, which we've seen here.They are financially secure most of the time, they are not as desperate.If they don't stay here they will go to Germany/other countries where they think it's best for them. The lower-middle & lower class can't do that,flee lastly and those are the people we need to support and help them unconditionally(and are the most grateful).At the same time some in WE & NA don't realize these are people legitimately fleeing conflict and are not migrating for,frankly, welfare benefits.They usually don't want to go in far distant lands because there's no economic motive.I don't want to sound like an ignorant but frankly UK is kind of a big stretch for fleeing as a wartime refugee person, though i'm not one to judge.Not to mention we've repeatedly seen refugee crises being abused for this reason, especially when getting a visa or being allowed through the border does not happen under normal conditions.(Here i would also like to say that Romania isn't in Schengen,still has border checks for both EU&non-EU, and there's nothing "discriminatory" if the border officer determines you're not fleeing conflict and rejects you, especially if there's no special case being stated by the gov. regarding certain criteria like nationality [exception which now exists for Ukrainians -- though more exceptionally this was decided at an EU level])
Those of us that did not vote for this Conservative government may feel shame (I certainly do) but the UK is a democracy and the government in power reflects, to a large degree, the sentiments of the general public when it comes to migration and charity to refugees. The latter of which is often in short supply.
In terms of the practicality of fleeing Ukraine for the UK, I take your point about distance, and wouldn't imagine that we would be a more popular destination that countries in central Europe. At the same time, the fact that only 50 visas had been issued by Britain to refugees from Ukraine (at the last count I saw) is pretty embarrassing if you ask me. We should do more and better, but we get the government (and by extension, the policies and laws) that we deserve.
Do you care to list those sources? It sounds exactly like a successful work of Kremlin propaganda.
Please, ask anyone, any foreign citizen who lived in Ukraine, if they ever saw people like that in person and if it was anything but a short "demonstration"/provocation happening once a year.
Banderites (followers of Nazi Stepan Bandera) are all over Ukraine in significant numbers. The current President Zelenskyy constantly talked about them and their growing support over the last decade in his comedic performances and as a politician.
Western media is suddenly reluctant to discuss this history (possibly because of state objectives) but the articles and other news media produced from ~2014-2016 on this topic are easy to find.
>The current President Zelenskyy constantly talked about them...
I was impressed about the way his silly rethoric has changed in the last 2 weeks (or really last one year). He is a different person now. Go and ask him about any of that nonsense now.
That our, vastly richer, nation is so miserly in this regard should be a source of national shame for a long time to come. Unfortunately, a substantial proportion of the British press will continue to parrot the government's lines about "leading the way" on sanctions and aid, and a British public unaccustomed to introspection will happily eat it up.