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THE TAOISEACH WELCOMED Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his first official visit to Ireland today.
The Ukrainian president visited Irish President Catherine Connolly before making his way to Government Buildings to meet with Taoiseach Micheál Martin. He later addressed a joint sitting of the Oireachtas.
It was a jam-packed day, so here are the key things we learned today:
Zelenskyy’s visit comes at a key moment in the negotiations towards a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
He said his visit to Ireland came at “one of the most challenging and optimistic moments” for Ukraine.
“It’s a process, it’s not over yet,” Zelenskyy said. He called the topic of Ukraine’s control over its territories “the most complicated” in the discussions right now, though he said he was reluctant to highlight the issues of most concern to him at such a sensitive time in the talks.
While Zelenskyy has been in Dublin, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has been speaking about how Russia is “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys today.
The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.
“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.
“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.
He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.
While speaking at a fireside chat at Iveagh House in Dublin, Zelenskyy was asked to react to those comments by Putin. He said:
“It is very difficult to comment because he really doesn’t want to finish this war because he didn’t get all his goals… he wanted to destroy us… he has really been very surprised. He didn’t get any real goal to destroy and break Ukraine and Europe.”
“He is now thinking of new reasons not to end this war,” he added.
“For me it is nothing new, the words of Putin, it’s nothing new,” said Zelenskyy.
“We want peace… we need to bring peace closer,” said the Ukrainian president.
Over the last three and a half years, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a household name.
His wife, Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, while also well known, generally plays a much more low-key role. That’s partly why Verona Murphy’s acknowledgement of her today was so moving.
Pausing to take a breath as she welcomed Zelenska to Dáil Éireann, Murphy looked up at the first lady in the distinguished visitors’ gallery and said:
“Mrs Zelenska is a woman who has become a symbol of Ukrainian dignity and resilience and you are a model for women worldwide.”
The short but seemingly very heartfelt comment drew applause from the chamber.
The comment came at the beginning of what will likely be one of Murphy’s most memorable speeches as Ceann Comhairle.Murphy, the first woman to hold the position of Ceann Comhairle, had a difficult start to her tenure at the beginning of this year as the speaking rights row threatened to undermine her position.
Her speech today showed just how much she has settled into the role.
Zelenskyy used his time in Dublin to voice what he would like Ireland to do to support Ukraine.
Acknowledging a number of times Ireland’s military neutrality, he pinpointed a number of tasks he thinks Ireland can take on – such as helping Ukraine join the EU; using our influence to get a tribunal up and running and also putting pressure on so that Russian assets can be used to reconstruct Ukraine.
He told the Taoiseach that Ireland’s voice matters and spoke about the country’s influence around the world with its large diaspora.
The Ukrainian president called for Ireland to use its influence to ensure that a tribunal be established into the war. Early in the year, the European Commission formally endorsed the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said this tribunal will be able to punish Russia for war crimes, asking that Ireland participate more actively in all joint efforts to ensure it gets up and running.
During his address to the Oireachtas, he said:
“Please continue to support all efforts to ensure the tribunal becomes a reality so that Russian killers cannot travel the world as if they have done nothing wrong.”
“Russia and its accomplices are legally accountable,” he said.
Taoiseach was called upon to also support the progression of Ukraine EU membership, something Micheál Martin said he is eager to focus on when Ireland takes up the EU Presidency next year.
In relation to the immobilised Russian assets, which have been an issue of debate in Europe, the Taoiseach said the Irish position is very clear.
“We support the utilisation of the immobilised assets to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine and to support Ukraine financially,” he said.
The Taoiseach said using Russian frozen assets will act as a deterrent for any future aggressions.
“There has to be accountability, there has to be some responsibility on the aggressor who has wreaked such devastation on a country,” he said.
He called for Ireland to remain in the community of nations that are on Ukraine’s side. “In a country that understands the price of freedom” Zelenskyy said, asking Ireland to use its influence wherever it can.
The idea that Ireland and Ukraine share a kinship built on a similar history was one that was repeatedly drawn on today, with Zelenskyy, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy all making references to it.
The Taoiseach spoke about Ireland’s history of emigration and our experience of conflict and told Zelenskyy that as long as Ukraine needs our support, it will have it. Zelenskyy said he believed that Ireland had opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees because, as a country, it knows what Ukraine is going through.
“You understand it, I think, historically speaking and based on values,” Zelenskyy said.
He came back to the idea during his Dáil address, telling the Oireachtas that Irish and Ukrainian people are “among the few in Europe who spent centuries fighting for the right to remain themselves.”
Later, while speaking at the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, he was asked about Ireland’s historical past. He said he had read a lot of books on it, stating “we understand the history, we understand your difficult history to gain independence”.
However, perhaps pointing to the difference between the two conflicts, he said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the biggest war after WW2.
Regardless of the differences, it was clear today that Irish leaders hope Ireland’s history of securing peace on the island can act as a symbol of hope for Ukraine.
People Before Profit TDs stood without applauding after Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas today.
In a statement issued shortly after the Ukrainian president’s speech concluded, Richard Boyd Barrett said: “We continue to stand with the people of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
“However, we have always rejected the idea that there is a military solution to this conflict and opposed the calls for military escalation.”
The party leader and Dublin South-West TD Paul Murphy were in the Dail for Mr Zelenskyy’s address.
While there were standing ovations from TDs and senators in the chamber and those gathered in the gallery, the two People Before Profit TDs did not join in the applause.
The statement from the party condemned the Russian invasion, saying: “Putin should get out of Ukraine and allow the Ukrainian people to decide their own future.”
But Murphy was critical of increased “militarisation”, saying: “It is very clear that this and the previous government have been cynical in using the war in Ukraine to further undermine Irish neutrality and back EU militarisation.”
He criticised the Government’s announcement that it would give €100 million in military aid to Ukraine, with Murphy describing it as “yet another flagrant breach of our neutrality”.
The party’s TDs were criticised in 2022 for refusing to clap after Zelenskyy addressed the Dáil by video link.
With reporting by Press Association
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