Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mrs. Shaloput and thank her for her presentation which highlighted for us the reality on the ground. It is not quite a forgotten conflict, but it is frozen in one regard. The figures Mrs. Shaloput has given for ongoing violations of the ceasefire and ongoing deaths are of great concern to the committee. We fully support the territorial integrity of Ukraine. As the Chairman knows, we have in the past criticised and condemned and will continue to do so any country's incursions into the sovereign territory of another country which has certainly happened in the Donbass region and Crimea.

The European Union has taken a very strong line on this issue. What is Mrs. Shaloput's view on the potential to restart the Minsk peace process? A lot of detail was put into the agreement. What is her view on the willingness of all sides, namely, the separatists in Donbass, the Russian Government and the Ukrainian Government, to move to try to resolve the crisis?

Is it a case like Abkhazia or South Ossetia in that Russian wants a foothold in Ukraine for a long time into the future? Is there any prospect of a solution here?

It is important to ask about one charge which has been laid against the Ukrainian Government relating to the rights of ethnic Russians in Ukraine to education through Russian and religious freedom. I ask the witness to use this opportunity to address that also. Reforms are happening in Ukraine, which is also very important for us. We respect fully everyone's right to his or her own national identity. In Ukraine, there is a substantial ethnic Russian population. The witness referred to the Crimean Tartars with whose situation we are familiar. It is something that has recurred in history over the centuries. The figure of up to 40,000 Ukrainians and 20,000 Crimean Tartars having left Crimea was mentioned.