Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country’s war with Russia will “always be welcome in Ireland”, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mr Harris said the world could never allow the war in Ukraine and the brutality it brought to “become normalised”.
During a meeting on Wednesday the two leaders discussed how to strengthen existing sanctions western countries have placed on Russia and Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the European Union.
Mr Zelenskiy said Russia was using “different schemes” to circumvent existing sanctions placed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He said he hoped Ireland would be able to provide “substantial” support to Ukraine when it came to the reconstruction.
He also said he was grateful that more than 100,000 Ukrainians had been “warmly welcomed” in the Republic since the start of the war.
The meeting between the pair comes at a time when many Ukrainian cities have come under increasingly heavy bombardment and with Russian troops making steady gains in eastern Ukraine.
The Taoiseach said the war Russia has been waging in Ukraine is one of pain and brutality. He said three children who were “probably asleep in their beds” had been “murdered” by an overnight drone strike in the city of Lviv.
Mr Zelenskiy has repeatedly pleaded with western allies for more Patriot air defence systems, as well as permission to use donated long range missiles to strike military targets deep in Russia.
Ireland’s support for Ukraine would continue to come in the form of non-lethal aid, Mr Harris said. Questions around the use of missiles supplied by allies to strike Russian targets was one for the countries providing them to Ukraine, he said.
At present Ukraine has been given the green light to fire on targets near border areas inside Russia. Any loosening of those restrictions would depend on the countries supplying the weapons, which Mr Zelenskiy said included the US, the UK, France and Germany.
The freedom to fire on targets was necessary “to help us drive away” Russian forces from Ukrainian territory, he said and it would also allow Ukraine to better defend its civilian population at a time when “we are losing people” daily.
Mr Zelenskiy said Ireland’s decision to curtail the amount paid to Ukrainian refugees in welfare benefits would be discussed during a meeting Mr Harris had with Denys Shmyhal, Ukrainian prime minister, later on Wednesday.
The Fine Gael leader said the scale of financial supports provided would always be kept under review to make sure the system was “sustainable”. He added that Ireland would continue to be a “steadfast supporter” of Ukraine joining the EU, a years-long process which has picked up pace since the Russian invasion.
When asked about the potential for a visa scheme for Ukrainians after the war, allowing them to travel to work in the State, Mr Harris said he did not think one would be necessary. Should Ukraine be successful in its efforts to enter the EU, it would provide freedom of movement to its citizens within the bloc, he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Harris visited Borodyanka, a residential area outside Kyiv that was heavily bombed during the first weeks of the war.
He then travelled to Hostomel, where he spoke to a couple whose home was destroyed by bombing. They have since moved into a prefabricated modular home placed on the site.
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