BORIS Johnson has rejected a fresh request to waive visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the chaos of Russia’s invasion.

The Prime Minister has been urged by Nicola Sturgeon to follow the EU’s lead, after Brussels announced it will grant Ukrainians the right to stay in the bloc for three years.

But the Tory leader resisted calls from Ian Blackford during PMQs, insisting his government’s scheme was sufficient.

Under the plans announced on Tuesday, Ukrainians living in the UK will be able to bring in "adult parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings" in addition to immediate family members, with around 200,000 people thought to be eligible for the scheme.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon attacks Boris Johnson over Ukrainian refugee failure

Blackford told Johnson: “Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister has made clear – our country stands ready to open our borders and our hearts to the people of Ukraine but the UK Government must bring down their barriers.

He asked: “Will the Prime Minister join with our European partners and waive all visa requirements for the people of Ukraine who are fleeing this war?"

The Prime Minister said his government would be as “generous as we possibly can” but insisted the UK could not follow the EU’s lead.

He replied: “The EU already, because of its Schengen border-free zone, has its own arrangements with Ukraine. They differed for a long time from those of the UK, but what we do have is a plan to be as generous as we possibly can to the people of Ukraine and the numbers that will come just under our family reunion scheme could be in the hundreds of thousands, to say nothing of the special new path that we’re opening up for those coming, the humanitarian path that is also uncapped.”

“What we won’t do is simply abandon all checks. We don’t think that, that is sensible, particularly in view of the security concerns, the reasonable security concerns about people coming from that theatre of war.”

Priti Patel was accused earlier this week of parroting the right-wing rhetoric of Donald Trump when she suggested Russian extremists could be infiltrating groups of refugees. 

READ MORE: Tory MP says his constituency shouldn't have to take in any Ukrainian refugees

Earlier, Blackford called for the UK Government to change its stance on international war crimes to ensure Vladimir Putin is properly prosecuted.

The SNP Westminster leader told MPs: “With every passing hour the world is witnessing the horrors of Putin’s war in Ukraine … these are war crimes happening in Europe right now. Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and one day soon Putin must face justice in The Hague.

“To prosecute Putin and his regime the full range of war crime charges need to be used including the crime of aggression by a state, but the UK’s always refused to sign up to the prosecution of this crime in international law.

“Surely with Putin’s crime of aggression in plain and horrific sight in Ukraine, now is the time to drop that opposition?”

READ MORE: Priti Patel 'deliberately' echoes Donald Trump with Ukraine visa refusal, SNP MP says

Blackford asked if Johnson would meet him to discuss amending the UK War Crimes Act, and urged him to support the ICC (International Criminal Court) prosecution for Putin.

Johnson replied: “I’m in principle of course happy to meet [him] … what we have seen already from Vladimir Putin’s regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians, in my view, already fully qualifies as a war crime and I know that the ICC prosecutor is already investigating, and I am sure the whole House will support that.”

The session began with a standing ovation for the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed he was in the chamber.

The Prime Minister was forced to explain his government’s relative lack of action in introducing sanctions against Kremlin-linked figures in the UK.

So far, the EU has introduced sanctions against 25 individuals with links to the Russian administration. The UK has sanctioned just 11.

Johnson said measures being brought forward to expose ownership of properties will “continue to tighten the noose around Putin’s regime”.

But Labour leader Keir Starmer pointed out the proposed legislation would not come into force for 18 months if passed.

He said his party supports the “long overdue” Economic Crime Bill, but added: “The key plank to that Bill is a register of who truly owns property in the United Kingdom, but it doesn’t come into force for existing owners, like Shuvalov, until 18 months after the Bill passes.

“At best that’s autumn 2023, far too long for the Ukrainian people.”

Starmer also pressed Johnson to sanction Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and a former deputy prime minister to Vladimir Putin.

The Labour leader said more action is needed from the UK to “stand up to Putin and those who prop up his regime”.

Johnson would not comment on individual cases but insisted measures being brought forward to expose the ownership of properties will “continue to tighten the noose around Putin’s regime”.

He added that a “full list of all those associated” with the Russian president’s regime will be published, and later told MPs: “I do hope that those who have any links with the Putin regime whatever, any so-called oligarchs … take this opportunity, as some brave individuals already have, to disassociate themselves from this barbaric invasion.”

A spokesman for Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich has previously claimed he is attempting to broker peace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Starmer told the Commons: “We must stand up to Putin and those who prop up his regime.

“Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high-value assets in the United Kingdom. He’s a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices.

“Last week, the Prime Minister said that Abramovich is facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say that he isn’t. Well, why on earth isn’t he?”

Johnson said it is not “appropriate” for him to comment on individual cases at this stage.