LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr 2022
HERE ARE THE latest developments in the war in Ukraine today.
Good morning. Lauren Boland here – let’s look at what’s happening in the war in Ukraine today:
At a joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Dáil and the Seanad this morning.
The TDs and Senators will be the most recent audience of one Zelenskyy’s many virtual appearances to world parliaments, where he has been rallying support for Ukraine.
The sitting is expected to run for around an hour, including Zelenskyy’s speech and approximately 40 minutes of responses from the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and leaders and representatives from political parties and technical groups.
Pictured: A mural of President Zelenskyy by the artist Phil Atkinson in Granard, Co Longford
“What they won’t tell the public, however, is that the most effective thing that the government could do is to put itself on the side of peace and dismantle the shadow banking system that has helped to enrich US capitalists and Russian oligarchs alike.”
The government is considering changes to the Fair Deal rules that could free up to 8,000 homes for rental to house Ukrainian refugees.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien told Cabinet yesterday that he plans to speed up reform of the Nursing Home Support Scheme (known as the Fair Deal Scheme) to allow people to rent unused, vacant homes without financial penalty.
The scheme provides financial support for people who require long-term nursing home care.
Under the current rules, 80% of rental income for a vacant home is taken by the Government to go towards the cost of nursing home care. The rule change would allow the homeowner to keep the revenue.
President of the European Council Charles Michel has said that the EU must impose oil and gas sanctions on Russia “sooner or later”.
Speaking to the European Parliament today, he urged sanctions on Russia’s key exports after calling the deaths of civilians in parts of Ukraine war crimes.
He described the deaths as “yet more proof that Russian brutality against the people of Ukraine has no limits”.
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence says that Russia has continued to strike the southern porty city of Mariupol and most of its 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water.
The Pope has commented on the war in Ukraine again this morning, condemning “ever more horrendous cruelty” after the attacks in Bucha.
“Ever more horrendous cruelties, also perpetrated against defenceless civilians, women and children.”
Here’s the last map from the Press Association on Russia’s movements in Ukraine:
The joint sitting of TDs and senators that Zelenskyy will speak to is due to start in just under ten minutes – it’ll be streamed live on the Oireachtas website.
We’ll have up-to-date coverage of his speech and the chamber’s reaction here on The Journal.
You can also watch the livestream here:
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl has just opened the joint sitting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is waiting virtually to speak in a few minutes.
Zelenskyy opens by describing Russia’s actions against Ukraine, saying it is destroying things that are sustaining people’s livelihoods like storage facilities for food and fuel and agricultural equipment, as well as putting mines in fields.
“They are destroying our infrastructure and deliberating provoking food prices,” Zelenskyy says.
He says Russia is using hunger as a “weapon”.
Russia is not allowing food or other basic supplies to enter Mariupol, Zelenskyy describes.
He says countless homes have been destroyed in the city after the weeks of brutal attacks.
Discussing Russia’s actions, he says it “may seem none in the present day world would dare to do this but these are the facts”.
“In the 42 days of all-out Russian war, at least 167 children were killed in Ukraine,” he said.
“We don’t know yet all the atrocities of Mariupol and victims in other areas of Ukraine where fighting is still going on.”
Pictured: Zelenskyy addresses TDs and senators live over video
Russia is trying to destroy “everything that makes us Ukrainians”, he says.
“When we’re hearing new rhetoric about sanctions against Russia, I can’t tolerate any indecisiveness after everything we have gone through and everything Russia has done,” Zelenskyy said.
“We still have to convince, even some European countries, to abandon the Russian market.”
Directly referencing Ireland’s response to the invasion for the first time, Zelenskyy said: “Even though you are a neutral country, you have not remained netural to the… mishaps Russia has brought to Ukraine.”
“I am grateful to you. To every citizen on Ireland, thank you for supporting sanctions against Russia.”
He also thanked Irish people for their humanitarian donations
He asked Ireland to push other EU countries to impose more sanctions on Russia and cut it off from global markets and its income from oil.
Some more images as the address continues, from the Oireachtas livestream:
He said there are still some political leaders in the world who do not believe that stopping Russia is more important than any financial loss to other countries from sanctions.
“I am sure your leadership can make a difference and change this.”
“We need to start thinking about restoration of our country after the war,” the Ukrainian president said.
He said Ukraine is inviting countries to help rebuild the country.
“Ireland is always welcome to do so.”
His final words: “I’m grateful to Ireland. Slava Ukraini.”
There’s a strong wave of applause for about half a minute in the Dáil as TDs and Senators stand to their feet.
Pictured: The standing ovation in the chamber after Zelenskyy’s speech
The Ceann Comhairle and others are wearing blue-and-yellow striped ties in tribute to the colours of Ukraine’s flag, with a lot of blue and yellow included in outfits around the chamber this morning.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is speaking now in response to Zelenskyy’s speech.
“Ireland is resolute in our solidarity and support for Ukraine,” he opens.
He thanks Zelenskyy for his “heartfelt” and “historic” address.
“Russia will have to live with the shame and ignominy of what they have done in Ukraine for decades,” the Taoiseach says.
“I am certain that in the end, Ukraine will prevail.”
He says Ireland is militarily netural but not politically or morally netural “in the face of war crimes”.
“This war touches us all and that is why Ireland is supporting further European sanctions,” Martin said.
“We need sanctions that will bring it home to Putin and his regime that he cannot and will not succeed.”
The Taoiseach says he welcomes Ukraine’s application for membership of the EU.
The Taoiseach says Ireland will support any action that can lead to an immediate ceasefire.
Watch it back: Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy tells TDs and senators that Russia is using hunger as a weapon against the people of Ukraine and speaks about the horror of the siege of Mariupol.
The Taoiseach thanks people in Ireland who have opened their “homes” and “hearts” to refugees from Ukraine.
“We stand with Ukraine. Slava Ukraini.”
Next to stand in the Dáil is Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
Zelenskyy is no longer on the virtual call, but Varadkar thanks him for speaking to the joint sitting this morning.
Varadkar says Ireland knows “what it’s like to be invaded” and to have its identity questioned.
“We’re heartbroken to see what the people of Ukraine have had to endure for 42 days.”
Varadkar says Ireland “no quarrel with the people of Russia” and admires protestors who are demonstrating in the streets.
“But for those responsible for this conflict, we have a simple message: Your actions will never be forgotten. They will never be forgiven.”
He says Russia has united Europe and the west and strengthened Ukraine’s national identity.
And again, he ends his speech: “Slava Ukraini.”
Watch it back: Zelenskyy told the Dáil that there is a ‘new page’ of relations between Ukraine and Ireland and that it is “only a matter of time” before they are together in the EU
Our political correspondent Christina Finn is in the Dáil’s gallery this morning for Zelenskyy’s address and politicians’ responses
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan says Ireland will need to “stay the course” in resisting Russia and fighting for Ukraine.
“Staying the course will be difficult but I expect this house and our people are up for the challenge, one of the greatest ones of our time,” he says.
Next up is Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Instead of trying to find peace, Russia has escalated its attacks by targeting civilians, she says.
She says that the Russian embassy in Ireland has acted as a force for propaganda about the war.
“The Russian ambassador wants us to ignore the evidence before our eyes.”
“It is long past time for Ambassador Filatov to be expelled from Ireland,” McDonald says, drawing applause in the Dáil. She repeats the call strongly in Irish.
Russia should feel the “full weight” of sanctions and should not underestimate the solidarity of Ireland and other countries with Ukraine, she says.
“Ukraine lives. Ukraine breathes. And Ukraine will go on.”
That’s it from me, Lauren – here’s my colleague Michelle Hennessy to take you through the next updates.
“One day the invader will retreat, the coloniser will leave, Russia’s armies will go home and the strength of the Ukrainian people and the support of her allies will see to that,” McDonald says.
She says the deeply scarred country will start to heal and families will come together again.
“Ukraine will emerge once more into a new dawn of peace and freedom. Our island stands with you now in your dark days and we will stand with you in the light of a victory of humanity over injustice of light over dark.”
Next up to speak is Labour party leader Ivana Bacik, who begins by calling for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from Ireland due to his “brazen denials of the truth of what is happening in Ukraine”.
She says the Irish government should show strong support for Ukraine’s expedited accession to the EU and a full embargo on Russian oil and gas.
“Putin has shown that he wants to wipe Ukraine off the map and Ambassador he wants to abolish your culture and your country’s history,” Bacik says, addressing Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland Gerasko Larysa, who is in the Dáil chamber.
“But Putin must fail and Putin will fail.”
TDs in the Dáil are continuing to discuss the war in Ukraine. Micheal Healy-Rae says the government in Ireland has been “to the forefront in standing up and saying we will put our shoulders to the wheel”.
He, like many others in the chamber today, commended Ambassador Larysa for the work she has done over the last number of weeks to highlight what is happening in her country and seek support for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, Senator Mark Daly is last to speak.
He begins by welcoming five-year-old Anastasia, who has come to Ireland with her mother.
Her father is still in Ukraine, “fighting to keep ti free and independent for his daughter’s future”, Daly says.
“We cannot imagine what they’ve gone through,” he continues. “We cannot imagine what it must feel like for millions of their fellow Ukrainians having to seek safety in European countries. We cannot imagine what it must feel like to have your future so suddenly changed.”
Daly says as an international community “we must never be neutral in the face of tyranny”.
“We can and we must do more,” he says. “We must be relentless in our support for Ukraine, not just today, not just tomorrow, but until the war is over.”
The Houses of the Oireachtas have shared some images of President Zelenskyy’s address in the Dáil:
A gallery of photographs from today's address by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a Joint Sitting of Dáil and Seanad Éireann can be found here #seeforyourself
— Houses of the Oireachtas - Tithe an Oireachtais (@OireachtasNews) April 6, 2022
Photo Gallery - https://t.co/xMCrvoPAQN#Ukraine 🇺🇦🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/cM0GkJsBlf
If you missed President Zelenskyy’s speech to the Houses of the Oireachtas, you can catch up here.
Russia’s foreign ministry said today it has made foreign debt payments on dollar-denominated bonds in rubles.
The finance ministry said in a statement that it had been forced to repay $649.2 million to foreign debt-holders in rubles after a correspondent bank refused to execute payment instructions.
“In order to fulfill the state debt obligations of the Russian Federation,” the finance ministry “was forced to attract a Russian financial institution to make the necessary payments”, it said in a statement.
The finance ministry did not specify if the ruble payment had been accepted.
Many analysts say Russia is heading into default but the Kremlin has rejected these claims.
“Russia has all the necessary resources to service its debts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has said over 500 people have reached Zaporizhzhia in a convoy from the besieged city of Mariupol:
UPDATE: Our team led a convoy of buses and private cars with over 500 people to Zaporizhzhia.
— ICRC Ukraine (@ICRC_ua) April 6, 2022
Those who were part of the convoy had managed to flee #Mariupol.
We hope this helps people find the safe haven they so desperately need right now. pic.twitter.com/5NRzIZkhuK
The organisation said its team tried for five days to reach Mariupol, but security conditions made it “impossible”.
“Thousands are still trapped in the city,” it said. “They urgently need a safe passage out and aid to come in.”
Five-year-old Anastasia (mentioned below) also met Taoiseach Micheál Martin during her visit to Leinster House today.
Virgin Media’s Gavan Reilly has shared a photo of the encounter.
Two months ago, 5-year-old Anastasiia Semonova was going to school in Donetsk.
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) April 6, 2022
Today she met the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Ukraine's ambassador Larysa Gerasko after attending a joint Oireachtas sitting addressed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
(📸Maxwells/Oireachtas) pic.twitter.com/eqjPwOzyuG
The EU has announced that it’s building a €540-million emergency stockpile of medicine and equipment to deal with chemical and nuclear emergencies.
The European Commission said the supplies consist of “equipment and medicines, vaccines and other therapeutics” to treat patients exposed to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies.
As a first step, the EU said it was procuring “potassium iodide tablets which can be used to protect people from the harmful effects of radiation”.
It said that three million iodide tablets had already been delivered to Ukraine with the help of EU members France and Spain.
UN to vote on suspending Russia from Human Rights Council
The UN General Assembly will tomorrow vote on suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council as punishment for invading Ukraine, the assembly presidency said.
The vote is “confirmed for 10:00 am,” Paulina Kubiak, a spokeswoman for the presidency, said this afternoon.
Borodyanka, Kyiv region.
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 6, 2022
Only 42 days ago, 13,000 people lived in this village.
russian occupiers brought death and destruction here. They wanted to do the same with the whole of Ukraine.
But our army fought back. Borodyanka is under the Ukrainian flag again. pic.twitter.com/o3wXs27RYQ
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has shared video showing the destruction left behind after Russian troops withdrew Borodyanka.
Before the war the town, which is around 40 km northwest of Kyiv, had a population of around 13,000.
“They wanted to do the same with the whole of Ukraine. But our army fought back,” the ministry wrote.
‘No support’ for those helping refugees
Back at Leinster House, Independent TD Peter Fitzpatrick has said that people who have opened their homes to Ukrainian refugees feel “isolated with no support”.
During Leader’s Questions, he told Taoiseach Micheál Martin that members of his constituency are finding it difficult to pay their bills without any support from Government.
“They said they have absolutely no regrets that they have opened their homes to Ukrainian refugees, but they find it difficult and financially challenging.
“They have increased energy and food bills, and on top of this, there’s massive hikes in energy prices, yet when they look for support and assistance from the Department, they feel that there is none,” he said.
In response, Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to those who have volunteered to help Ukrainian refugees to get settled in this country.
“The initial focus of our responses has been, first of all, on the accommodation,” he said.
He said that to date, 19,283 people have arrived from Ukraine, and of these, 11,800 have sought accommodation.
“This is something we’ve never thought we’d experience, and therefore, we’ve been focusing in the initial phase of this, on getting the accommodation. We’ve much more to do there, we’re under pressure in terms of accommodation but we have to get through all the pledges, we have significant work on the way,” he said.
Martin said the Government is working on acquiring more accommodation for refugees, including from private and state-owned properties, religious properties and local authority facilities.
“All of that is being worked on as we speak and that has to be where the energies go right now. Likewise, there is income support immediately in terms of social protection, once refugees come into the country,” he said.
He also said the Government is establishing community response forums in each local authority to coordinate responses to the Ukraine crisis.
“That forum will bring together all of the public, community and larger organisations acting locally, as well as the mayor of each local authority.
“These local forums are best placed to put arrangements in place to help the new arrivals from Ukraine access services. We believe that these forums are an important part of what your articulated in terms of the need to provide support on the ground,” he said.
The German government has said that satellite images from last month provided strong counterevidence against Russian denials of involvement in civilian deaths in Bucha.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters that the “evaluation of satellite images” led Berlin to conclude that “Russian declarations” that images of civilian deaths “were posed scenes or that they were not responsible for the murders are in our view not tenable”.
International condemnation of Russia’s actions continue as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today described the action of Russian forces as close to “genocide”.
He pledged Britain will be in the “front rank” of nations imposing new sanctions on Moscow.
The US and the EU are planning new measures against Vladimir Putin’s regime amid a wave of international revulsion at reports of rape and the killings of civilians by his troops.
Just in: Residents of the Ukraine’s eastern regions have been told to evacuate “now” or “risk death” due to a feared Russian attack.
“The governors of the Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk regions are calling on the population to leave these territories and are doing everything to ensure that the evacuations take place in an organised manner,” deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said there is no sign Russian President Vladimir Putin has dropped “his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine” and the war could last for a long time.
“We have to be realistic and realise that this may last for a long time, for many months, for even years. And that’s the reason why we need also to be prepared for the long haul, both when it comes to supporting Ukraine, sustaining sanctions and strengthening our defences,” Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
‘A fresh offensive’
The call for urgent evacuations from eastern regions comes as Ukraine says Russian forces are regrouping to launch a fresh offensive in the country’s east after retreating from the Kyiv region.
Ddeputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk today asked residents to cooperate with authorities, saying Kyiv will “not be able to help” them after an attack.
“It has to be done now because later people will be under fire and face the threat of death. There is nothing they will be able to do about it, nor will we be able to help,” she said.
“It is necessary to evacuate as long as this possibility exists. For now, it still exists,” she added.
The Kremlin has declared that Ukraine’s Donbas is now a priority for the Russian army.
NATO believes Moscow aims to take control of the whole Donbas region in eastern Ukraine with the aim of creating a corridor from Russia to annexed Crimea.
The EU is looking to add two of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters to its sanctions blacklist over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, European diplomats have told AFP.
The move would be part of a wave of fresh measures being planned after Ukrainian and Western leaders accused the Kremlin’s forces of massacring civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv.
The EU’s executive has proposed targeting Putin’s two daughters Maria and Katerina, born in 1985 and 1986, from his marriage to ex-wife Lyudmila, whose divorce from the Russian leader was announced in 2013.
According to Russian media, Maria Vorontsova, the eldest daughter, is an endocrinologist and co-owner of a Russian medical research company. She was reputedly married to a Dutch businessman.
The younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, is a specialist in mechanical sciences and directs an artificial intelligence institute at Moscow State University, local media have reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today spoke with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The Kremlin said Putin had, during the conversation, accused Ukraine of “cynical provocations” in Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly found dead after Russian troops withdrew.
“Vladimir Putin informed (Orban) about the situation regarding talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives and also gave (his) principled assessment of the Kyiv regime’s crude and cynical provocation in the city of Bucha,” the Kremlin said.
After speaking to Putin, Orban said he urged the Russian President to declare a ceasefire. He also said he had proposed a meeting in Budapest between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Orban said the Russian president’s response to the idea of a meeting “was positive, but with conditions”.
Asked about civilians found dead in the town of Bucha, Orban replied: “With all atrocities, we have to examine them, even though we live in an era of massive manipulation where we can’t be sure if we can trust our own eyes”.
Following his discussion today with President Putin, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also said his country will pay Russia in rubles for gas imports if asked.
“We have no difficulty paying in rubles for gas, if that is what the Russians ask, we will pay for it in rubles,” Orban told reporters at a press conference.
This puts Hungary at odds with EU peers who have ruled out doing so.
Orban had previously had the closest relationship to Putin of any EU leader. Today he restated his opposition to Hungary sending weapons to Ukraine and to the EU imposing an embargo on Russian energy imports, on which Hungary is highly dependent.
Just in: We mentioned earlier the EU is considering adding two of President Putin’s daughters to the sanctions blacklist. Well, the White House has just announced sanctions on them both, saying family members were known to hide the Russian president’s wealth.
It also declared “full blocking” sanctions on Russia’s largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and said all new US investment in Russia was now prohibited.
More on the new US sanctions:
- The sanctions target Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s.
- The wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s Security Council, including former President and Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin are also on the list.
In a statement the White House said:
“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people. Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin’s war on Ukraine.”
Full blocking sanctions were declared on Russia’s largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank.
And all new US investment in Russia is now prohibited.
New sanctions will be announced tomorrow on key Russian state enterprises, aiming to hamper their ability to trade and move money through the global financial system.&
“The sickening brutality in Bucha has made tragically clear the despicable nature of the Putin regime,” a US official said, referring to evidence of the murder of civilians by Russian forces in a suburb of Kyiv.
On the ground in Ukraine, the conflict continues to cause devastation
For residents in the industrial city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, there has been sustained bombing today with shells and rockets landing at regular intervals.
Regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram that 10 buildings had been hit in the strike, as well as a shopping centre and nearby parking garages, which caught fire.
Among the targets were “not a single strategic, military facility,” said Gaiday.
Severodonetsk, which had a population of more than 100,000 people before the war, is the easternmost city held by Ukrainian forces on the eastern frontline.
Russian forces have said they will focus their attacks in the south and east of the country, where they already hold large swathes of territory.
People living in these regions have been warned to evacuate now or “risk death”.
⚡️Deputy PM urges residents of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts to evacuate.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 6, 2022
Iryna Vereshchuk called on the residents of these eastern regions to evacuate while it’s possible, warning that further Russian bombardments could cut off evacuation corridors.
A UN humanitarian convoy reached Severodonetsk yesterday with food and blankets as well as hospital electricity generators, but thousands of residents are cut off from gas and water supplies.
Former England forward Matt Le Tissier today stood down from his role as an ambassador with Premier League club Southampton following a backlash over a controversial social media post on the war in Ukraine.
The 53-year-old former Saints and England forward yesterday shared a conspiracy theory regarding what appear to be intentional killings of civilians in Bucha and other towns before Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv.
Le Tissier wrote “This” and a pointing-down emoji towards a tweet suggesting the media had “lied”, before deleting the post and seeking to clarify his position by saying “the point was about the media manipulation”.
He posted another update this morning to make it “very clear” he does “not advocate war in any way shape or form”, adding he did not “advocate anyone taking lives of others and anyone who commits such acts should be dealt with accordingly”.
To all the fans of sfc. I have decided to step aside from my role as an ambassador of SFC. My views are my own and always have been, and it’s important to take this step today to avoid any confusion. This does not affect my relationship with and love for
— Matt Le Tissier🌸 (@mattletiss7) April 6, 2022
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced fresh sanctions on Russia, including freezing the overseas assets of Sberbank – Russia’s largest bank – and Credit Bank of Moscow.
“Today, we are stepping up our campaign to bring (Vladimir) Putin’s appalling war to an end with some of our toughest sanctions yet,” Truss said in a statement.
“Our latest wave of measures will bring an end to the UK’s imports of Russian energy and sanction yet more individuals and businesses, decimating Putin’s war machine,” she said.
NEW SANCTIONS hitting Russian banks, coal, oil and other strategic industries funding Putin's war.
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) April 6, 2022
The horrors committed by Russian forces in Ukraine are being met with action by the UK and our @G7 partners.#StandWithUkraine
Following the announcement of the new sanctions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“We will not let Russia’s appalling crimes go unnoticed or unpunished. Ukraine must prevail.”
Hello, Tadgh McNally here taking over from Michelle Hennessy for the next while.
Following calls for civilians to evacuate from Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts earlier today, Ukrainian officials have said that Russia has shelled buildings in the Luhansk Oblast.
According to Luhansk Oblast Governor, Serhiy Haidai, ten high-rise buildings in the city of Sievierodonetsk were shelled by Russian forces.
There are currently no estimates on the number of casualties, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has criticised four People Before Profit TD for not clapping following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the Oireachtas this morning.
A spokesperson for PBP said that it was due to calls from Zelenskyy for NATO involvement in the war as well as the demands for further sanctions against Russia and the banning of opposition parties in Ukraine.
Coveney said:
First of all, I think anybody who listens to President Zelensky this morning and who decided not to applaud his contribution, doesn’t reflect the views of the vast, vast majority of Irish people.
His country is going through hell right now.
He’s witnessing a lot of that in terms of the areas that he’s been visiting in the last number of days.
The idea that you wouldn’t stand and applaud his courage, his bravery, his leadership, but also out of respect for what his country is going through, to my mind is extraordinary.
The people who didn’t can speak for themselves but I find it extraordinary that they would choose to make a political point somehow by not doing that, when the response of everybody else was such a human one.
PBP TD Paul Murphy has expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the hours following the speech.
Gráinne Ní Aodha here, taking over the Liveblog.
Here’s a heartbreaking report from RTÉ’s Conor Hunt.
Oleksandr Zavhorodniy, living in Ireland for last 20 years. Returned to Ukraine last month to ensure his family was safe and to fight the Russians. He's been killed in battle. More on @rtenews pic.twitter.com/5vgG0RMFfz
— Conor Hunt (@conorfhunt) April 6, 2022
An interesting interview with Fred Weir, based in Russia, about how Russians view the war.
"There is an official paranoia here that is something remarkable. I don't think we've seen it since Stalin times." @fredweir3 tells @SarahAMcInerney how Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine is viewed by the Russian public. #rtept | #ukraine pic.twitter.com/xAiuR5OyVw
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) April 6, 2022
An impassioned speech in the European Parliament about further EU sanctions.
Your strategy of incremental sanctions doesn’t work. Cannot work…
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) April 6, 2022
That’s why 212 members of Parliament demand a special #EUCO meeting to decide on full sanctions immediately!
My speech👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/MFCtmboaf4
Contains additional reporting by AFP and Press Association
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