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IRISH MILITARY DRIVERS battled floods in Germany and a Russian drone incursion in Poland as they drove 7,000kms across Europe to deliver army vehicles and bomb disposal robots to Ukraine.
Commandant Niall Buckley, who led the operation spoke to The Journal just hours after arriving back in Ireland from the last convoy on the mission dubbed Operation Longreach by military planners.
The Transport Corps drivers delivered a total of 35 vehicles, which included ambulances, vans and specialist logistical lorries, to Ukrainian troops they met at a location near the Polish and Ukraine border. They also delivered three bomb disposal robots.
This is the second such mission – Operation Carousel was performed in July 2024 by the same team, also led by Buckley.
The Transport Corps team, which is a combat support element of the Defence Forces, drove on a 7,182km round trip from Ireland to the Polish border. The shipments were moved in multiple convoys.
They travelled by road up through Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Poland to the airport at Rzeszow where there is a military-run holding centre for Ukraine defence donations.
Buckley and two teams of drivers drove multiple convoys to Rzeszow where Ukrainian drivers met them – they drove mostly at night to facilitate local authorities’ wishes. They were hit by torrential rain and flooding and the Russian drone incursion into Poland also added to the complexity.
Speaking to The Journal this morning Buckley said that for his crew it was a tangible mission that had a direct positive impact on the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline.
“Everyone said it was an experience of a lifetime for them. They joined the Transport Corps to do this sort of thing, and it’s great that we can give that experience for them,” he said.
Along the way the convoys were being monitored by a GPS tracking system and Defence Forces Operations Headquarters in Dublin were keeping them up to date on developing situations.
It was not without its challenges and Buckley said that there were security concerns along the route.
“We had good weather the last trip in 2024 but this time we experienced all sorts of weather this time, everything from floods and torrential rain to high winds.
“Then there was the the drone threat on the last trip – the airports were closed in Lublin, and a couple of other airports around that area closed off.
“We were driving straight in into the middle of that so we were very conscious. And operations here in Dublin were kind of keeping an eye on us, where we were, what we were doing, and wanted to know every hour on the air what we were doing,” he said.
The specific drone threat was as upwards of 20 Russian drones drifted from their targets inside western Ukraine and entered airspace near to the convoy as they drove at night. In the skies near the convoy Polish and Dutch NATO fighters shot down a number of the drones.
“There is a risk in doing these things, but at the same time, you’re trying to mitigate risk all the time, and that’s what Dublin was trying to do at that time, and what I was trying to do while on the move at the same time – but all in all very happy with this trip.”
Buckley said their arrival on that night at the centre in Rzeszow was more difficult as Polish military personnel were managing a heightened security level. He said there were also deliveries of military aid, such as tanks and other vehicles, from Germany, Canada and Australia.
He said this time there were much more Ukrainian personnel there to meet them. Some had met the team on the last operation in 2024 and there was a warm welcome for the Irish.
Buckley is a long time Irish Defence Forces member, having joined in 1987. He said he started a private and worked his way up through the ranks to his present position as a commanding officer.
“I was due to retire last year, and I stayed on since they extended out the retirement age and one of the reasons why I did it is because I still have that bit of excitement in me as a transport officer for the Transport Corps.
“With this kind of operation, we’re doing good, and that’s one of the reasons why I stayed on.
“When I think of the Ukrainians driving the ambulance or the other vehicles and helping the people on the front – it’s great.”
Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the mission showed “Ireland’s steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal invasion”.
“This donation is a practical example of that support, reflecting Ireland’s provision of non-lethal aid to the Ukrainian Armed Forces following Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” he said.
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