Ireland will “say more, spend more and do more” to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has told a conference to mark the third anniversary of the attack on the country.
Speaking by video-link to the conference in Kyiv, which was being attended in person by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy chief Antonio Costa, Mr Martin promised to increase Ireland’s assistance to Ukraine and to support strengthened measures when EU leaders meet next week for another emergency summit on Ukraine.
The moves highlight the EU’s fears at recent moves by US president Donald Trump to distance his country from Ukraine and the doubts which now exist over continued American military aid.
“For a small country like Ireland,” Mr Martin told the summit, “the international rules-based order is ultimately the only basis for our security”, adding that by fighting to resist the Russian aggression, Ukrainians were fighting to “uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter” and values that protect other small countries.
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“We in Ireland stand with you and we do need to say more, we do need to spend more and we need to do more,” Mr Martin said, affirming that Ireland will “contribute more financially on all fronts and in all areas”.
He said that it was important to “accelerate Ukraine’s membership of the European Union” and Ireland would strongly support that goal.
Mr Martin said Ireland would also support the utilisation of frozen Russian assets to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“It is very important also that we remember that Russia has not achieved the objectives that it set itself when it illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago,” he said. “What we must now resolve that Russia is never rewarded for what it did three years ago.”
The Russian ambassador in Dublin, Yuriy Filatov, responded by accusing the Irish Government and “mainstream media” of spreading “anti-Russian propaganda ... blaming Russia for the ‘aggression in Ukraine’ and swearing loyalty to the Kyiv regime”.
Earlier, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said Ireland could not “recuse itself” from conversations about Ukraine’s future.
The Fine Gael leader warned that European leaders should not “jump” forward to talks about contributing peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, when there was “no evidence” that Russian president Vladimir Putin wanted peace.
Mr Harris was speaking on his way into a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, which was expected to debate how EU states could channel several billion euro of extra military aid to Ukraine.
Mr Harris confirmed the Government planned to donate some of the Defence Forces’ ageing air defence radar systems to Ukraine. “The Ukrainian government had expressed an interest in accessing some legacy equipment that we have in the Irish Defence Forces,” he said.
Ireland is in the process of buying a modern radar system, which Mr Harris said he wanted to fast track.
Irish officials are waiting to hear back from Ukrainian authorities about the offer to donate the older radar systems. Mr Harris said the response would determine the timeline and how much equipment Ireland gave to Ukraine.
“This is something that I think could happen relatively quickly, but like I say, I wouldn’t overstate the significance of it, it’s a small amount of what would be termed legacy [equipment],” he said.
Speaking last week, Mr Martin said Ireland would consider sending peacekeeping troops to monitor any ceasefire in Ukraine, if the mission had the backing of an international mandate, similar to the UN force in Lebanon.
“If we get to a point where there is a peace in place and there is a need for the keeping of that peace, not the enforcing of it, but the keeping of it, and if that happens within the context of the rules that apply in Ireland, of course we’ll engage constructively,” Mr Harris said.
“I think it would be irresponsible and lacking in solidarity for any country to take itself off that pitch.”
