Priti Patel has rejected calls to waive visas for Ukrainian citizens based on the “strongest security” advice which warned Russian troops and extremists could use refugee routes to infiltrate the UK.
However, the Home Secretary promised to provide a "new Ukrainian humanitarian corridor" for those fleeing Russia's conflict.
She also claimed that a modification of visa regulations allowing those in the UK to bring in Ukrainian "immediate family" for a period of 12 months will allow 100,000 additional refugees to seek refuge in the UK, with access to work and public amenities.
Ms Patel is planning to announce new measures to assist Ukrainian migrants in the coming days, despite severe political pressure, notably from Tory MPs.
However, it is unclear whether this will mean more secure pathways to the UK or more support for the region's countries.
If it's solely the latter, Ms Patel is sure to suffer a reaction, given the government is under fire for what it's doing to help Ukrainians escaping the conflict.
Since Russia's invasion began last Thursday, at least 400,000 refugees have entered the EU.
Brussels is prepared to offer Ukrainians who already have visa-free travel to the EU the ability to remain and work for up to three years in the 27-nation union.
Ministers have told Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, that the UK is "likely" to follow the EU's lead.
Ms Patel, on the other hand, dismissed calls for the UK to follow suit and suspend immigration regulations, saying that Russian troops and extremists would try to take advantage of the system to enter the country.
“Over the weekend I have seen members of this House calling for full visa waivers for all Ukrainians,” Ms Patel said.
Security and biometric checks are an important component of our visa processing process around the world, and they will continue to be so, just as they were during the evacuation of Afghans.
This is critical to keeping British residents safe and ensuring that we are assisting those who are truly in need, especially now that Russian troops have infiltrated Ukraine and are mixing with Ukrainian forces.
Extremist groups and organisations are also present, according to intelligence sources, posing a threat not just to the region but even to our own country.
"As the Salisbury incident demonstrated, we know all too well what Putin's Russia is willing to do, even on our land."
It occurred as the Conservative Party's One Nation Caucus wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron, pressing him to do more to assist Ukrainian migrants.
Former Cabinet ministers Sir Robert Buckland, Jeremy Hunt, and Matt Hancock were among the prominent MPs who signed a letter advocating for a "flexible and pragmatic approach" to allowing Ukrainians to seek temporary asylum in the United Kingdom.
They said: “It is clear that this is not another migration crisis; this is a crisis of war. This should not be business as usual, we need sincere and immediate support for the Ukrainian people.”
Ms Patel's claim that she was creating a "bespoke humanitarian path" was slammed by Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said it was "very unclear from what she's said what the facts actually are or who it will apply to."
"People across the UK are urging the Government to stand with Ukrainians and offer them sanctuary," said Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael MP.
"Yet Priti Patel has done “Yet all Priti Patel has done is repeated the Prime Minister’s vague and very limited announcement yesterday.”
Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Kevin Foster has refused to apologize for a tweet that said the seasonal worker programme was a way for Ukrainians to flee the conflict.
Shadow Home Office minister Stephen Kinnock criticized Mr. Foster’s now-deleted tweet as “the modern-day equivalent of let them eat cake” and asked for him to “unconditionally apologize” – but the minister did not respond on that point.
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