"There were a million people," recalls Anna Bianova, "the station was so crowded we couldn't move. It was a great horror. Tears like hail. We waited for the train."

These were the scenes at the central station of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in the days after the city came under bombardment by Russian forces. Bianova is one of more than two million who have fled UkraineA country in Eastern Europe. It was invaded by Russia in February 2022.  in the 15 days since the all-out Russian invasionThe conflict between Russia and Ukraine goes back to 2014 when Russia sent troops into the disputed territory of Crimea. But Vladimir Putin's decision on 25 February to launch a full invasion was a drastic escalation. began. According to the city's mayor Vitali KlitschkoA former boxer who turned to politics after retiring., "one in two Kyiv residents has left the city".

This is Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two, and it is on course to become its most severe. The United Nations predicts that four million people will soon be seeking sanctuary from the increasingly destructive war.

Where will these people go? Many have no clear plan: only to escape the bombs. "We don't need much," says one refugee. "A warm corner is enough."

The EU has responded to this crisis by promising shelter for victims of the war. The UK's response has been far more cautious: so far it has welcomed only around 1,000 refugees compared to 1.4 million in PolandA central European state that is the 5th-most populous member state of the EU. and 80,000 in Germany.

Today, however, the British government is launching a scheme to house thousands more - and ordinary citizens are at the heart of it. Anybody with a spare room in their house will be invited to offer it to an individual or family displaced from Ukraine, under an arrangement that will last for at least six months.

"Everybody in this country can offer a home," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. He claims that this scheme is in keeping with the historical attitudes of British people, which he describes as "generous, open and welcoming".

The famous moment in British history that Johnson might have in mind is the KindertransportGerman for children's transport. Individuals and companies sponsored around 10,000 children to bring them to Britain.: a great humanitarian mission to rescue Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe during the Holocaust. Individuals and companies sponsored each of the 10,000 children that came to Britain in this way, paying for their care and education.

The echoes with the new scheme for Ukrainian refugees are clear. And the words that former prime minister Stanely Baldwin used in his 1938 Kindertransport appeal still seem pertinent today: "I have to ask for you to come to the aid of the victims, not of any catastrophe in the natural world... but of an explosion of man's inhumanity to man."

British people have already shown their willingness to welcome the displaced. A charity that links homeowners with refugees seeking accommodation says that applications have risen from 20 to 1,000 per week over the past month.

Similar schemes are already well established elsewhere. Trains arriving in Poland and Germany from Ukraine are routinely greeted by crowds of placards offering them rooms in private homes. "Big room," read one in Berlin. "One to three people. Children welcome too!"

Yes: When a neighbour comes knocking in need of a roof, it is heartless to turn them away. The bombs are falling and the moral duty of those in peaceful countries could not be more clear.

No: The plight of Ukrainians is awful, but it is governments who should help, not individuals. Schemes like this leave the fate of vulnerable people up to luck. 

Or... This response is admirable, but where was the welcome for those fleeing other crises, such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq? We should take this opportunity to rethink our attitude towards all migrants and refugees.