H.E. Ms Larysa Gerasko:

Vice Chairman and Members of the Oireachtas, at the outset I thank the committee for inviting me and giving me this opportunity to address the distinguished members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on the war in Ukraine unleashed by the Russian Federation.

Before I turn to my remarks, let me, on behalf of the Government of Ukraine and on behalf of the President of Ukraine, extend the words of appreciation for Ireland’s support that we are receiving, at this unprecedentedly horrible time for my country, from the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Irish Government, local authorities, businesses, non-governmental organisations and many other institutions. I pay special tribute to the people of Ireland for their huge response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, for their generosity, hospitality and willingness to grant asylum and protection for the Ukrainians, most of them women and children, who are fleeing the war while their fathers, husbands and sons are defending Ukraine and the entire Europe.

Dear friends, the Russian troops continue simultaneously attacking Ukraine from the territory of Russia and from the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and Crimea. The main directions of Russia’s invasion remain: Kyiv, with the key goal to change Government to a pro-Russian one; Kharkiv, which is the second largest city of Ukraine situated in the vicinity of the border with Russia; southern regions of Ukraine adjacent to Russia-occupied Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; as well as the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

I underline that the territory of Belarus is actively used by Russia for its military purposes. Missiles are launched from the territory of Belarus. The Belarus airfield and rail networks are used for transportation of personnel, cargo and ammunition. Belarus supplies fuel to the Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. On 11 March, Russian aircraft entered Ukraine’s airspace and shelled a Belarusian village located on the border with Ukraine. This is a false flag operation, aimed at providing a pretext for Belarus's direct engagement into Russia’s war.

Russia fires hundreds of cruise and operational-tactical missiles at residential areas and military positions, it attacks with aviation, tanks and artillery, and sends saboteur groups into Ukrainian territory. The aggressor state carries out non-stop full-scale air strikes on critical civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian airports, including in western parts of our country near the border with the European Union. The committee will be aware that on Sunday, the Russian military dropped bombs in an area that is 22 km from the Ukrainian-Polish border. The war is very close to the European Union.

The city of Mariupol, with a mainly Russian-speaking population, was totally destroyed. What is happening today in this city has no parallel. It blows my mind that there have been more than 2,357 civilian deaths in this city alone, while those innocent people who are still alive are suffering a humanitarian catastrophe deliberately created on Putin’s demand as revenge for civil disobedience. The Russian Armed Forces have even bombed children's and maternity hospitals in Mariupol. Members will have seen the terrible videos and photos. That was cynically recognised by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces hold ground strongly. Russia, however, has significant air advantage. We urge our partners to immediately introduce a no-fly zone to save the Ukrainian people, as well as to avoid devastating nuclear disasters. Russia has already put the entire of Europe on the brink of nuclear catastrophe by shelling the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is equal to six Chernobyls. It was seized by Russia and the situation remains very fragile. The Russian occupiers have declared that the plant is now under control of Rosatom, which raises additional concerns on nuclear security.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was also seized by the Russian troops at the beginning of the war.

They have already twice damaged its power line, which could lead to the leak of radiation. The situation remains extremely dangerous. The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, has lost connection with the monitoring system of guarantees both in Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia. At the same time, Russia's nuclear deterrence forces remain on alert and threats of nuclear war continue.

On 12 March, in Melitopol, another southern city of Ukraine, the invaders captured the mayor of the city, Ivan Fedorov, a mayor who defended Ukraine and the people of his community. The Russian invaders have switched to a new stage of terror where they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of the legitimate local Ukrainian authorities. The capture of the mayor of Melitopol is a crime not only against a particular person, but against humanity and democracy as such. President Zelenskyy appealed to the international community, as well as to the distinguished Members of the Oireachtas, to demand from Russia the immediate release of the mayor of Melitopol and guarantees of full security to all heads of communities across the country.

The whole world witnesses that the Ukrainian people do not surrender to the invaders, even where Russian troops temporarily manage to enter. At the same time, the Russian Armed Forces are facing huge losses of combat capabilities. The number of killed Russian servicemen on the territory of Ukraine already exceeds 13,000 people, or even more. The number of wounded invaders is many times bigger. By blocking social networks, intimidating media, censorship, high fines and imprisonment of up to 15 years, as well as using mass graves for Russian military killed in action, the Kremlin attempts to conceal these figures, afraid of mass anti-war protests. Still, the truth cannot be hidden.

Russia’s barbaric actions have already resulted in a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine which is rapidly deteriorating. Kindergartens and schools, universities and hospitals, airports and fuel stations, bridges and water reservoirs continue to be targeted. As of 14 March, more than 400 educational institutions, 111 hospitals and more than 1,500 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed. Many people have lost their homes. More than 2.7 million persons have left Ukraine across the western border, including over 6,000 who have already arrived in Ireland. Some 1.85 million people became internally displaced persons, IDPs. Almost the entire city of Mariupol and several towns near Kyiv have been left without heat, light and water. No humanitarian assistance can reach the destination due to Russian shelling. The Russian troops do not allow civilians to leave, using them as a human shield and disrupting the work of most humanitarian corridors. Unfortunately, Russia took an unconstructive stance during the meeting between Foreign Ministers Kuleba and Lavrov in Turkey and in yesterday’s talks. No agreements on Ukrainian proposals on a ceasefire or humanitarian corridors were reached. However, despite everything, over 4,000 people are saved daily from towns and cities besieged by Russian forces.

Russia has failed to reach its key goals. Ukraine did not surrender in three days, as the Kremlin was expecting. Kyiv as a political and military command centre remains intact. No big cities, with the exception of Kherson, were taken. In the towns temporarily under control of Russian troops, the Ukrainian population is actively protesting against them. In Kherson, protests are so massive that Russian occupiers had to deploy police units. Following the 2014 playbook, the Russians now desperately try to organise a sham “referendum” for a fake “people’s republic” in Kherson. Given zero popular support, it will be fully staged. Kherson is and will always be Ukraine. Some 92% of Ukrainian citizens are convinced that we will win this defensive war against Russia.

Having failed to make Ukraine surrender, Russia started searching for fake pretexts to justify its war of aggression. Despite Russia’s false allegations, Ukraine has neither intention nor steps taken aimed at the creation of a nuclear weapon, and this is confirmed by the IAEA. Various Russian officials also falsely accuse Ukraine of non-existent biological or chemical weapons. This is deeply troubling as Russia may prepare a horrific false flag operation.

Ukrainian people are dying for the freedom of Ukraine and the freedom of Europe, as well as their right to become a full member of the European Union. According to the polls held on 1 March, the EU membership is an idea that unites the whole of Ukraine and has support in all regions of the country without exception. A record 86% of Ukrainians support EU integration, with the figures at 81% in southern Ukraine and 72% in the east, which is a Russian-speaking region. On 28 February, the President of Ukraine signed an official application for EU membership for Ukraine with a new urgent procedure. I am proud that Ireland supports us in our endeavours. We are grateful for the decisions already taken by our EU partners during the recent informal summit of the EU leaders in Paris, which acknowledged the European aspirations and the European choice of Ukraine. However, as stated by President Zelenskyy, the decision should have been stronger.

Ukraine is now a pluralistic democracy with a mixed parliamentary-presidential form of governance and with a strong tradition of free and fair elections. Ukrainian people halted the threat to democracy and defended European values in 2004 with the Orange Revolution, again in 2013 and 2014 with unprecedented protests on the Euromaidan and now in the bloody war of Russia against European Ukraine. We are a reliable EU partner in international affairs. Last year, Ukraine joined 93% of the European Union’s statements on international developments and approaches to their regulation. Even amid the military aggression, Ukraine managed to integrate its unified energy system into the European ENTSO-E energy system after the first test only. The significant progress made in economic integration between Ukraine and the EU has become possible through the deep and comprehensive free trade area that accounted for more than a 40% share of the country’s total trade turnover in 2021.

We are already involved in the European process via integration into the EU Internal Market, mainly the energy market, and joining the key EU policy initiatives such as the European green deal. Ukraine has high renewables potential as well as the possibility of hydrogen production. Ukraine also has one of the strongest IT potentials. The national IT industry saw exports crossing $5 billion for the first time. It accounts for 4% of GDP and employs roughly 200,000 professionals. Even before the Russian invasion, support for Ukraine's EU membership was high in many EU states. Today, it is even higher. This means that Ukraine's membership of the EU is natural and finds maximum support from society.

We can already see that sanctions against Russia are working. According to Bloomberg, in the two weeks since Russia's invasion, it has suffered perhaps the worst fall since the 1990s crisis, which has already slashed Russia's GDP by $30 billion, or 9% in 2022. Leading international companies are already leaving the Russian market, but it is not enough. We must put more pressure on Russia to force it to sit down at the negotiating table and end this brutal war. In this regard, we urge Ireland and our EU partners to take further actions which have to be done immediately. The first is a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop the shelling of civilians by Russia and to ensure the safety of critical infrastructure such as nuclear power plants. A trade embargo must be introduced on coal from Russia. Russia must be prevented from using cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions. Ports must be closed to Russian vessels, following actions by the UK, Canada and Cyprus and, there must be a ban on ships under EU member-states flags going to Russian sea ports. We must encourage private business to divest from Russian assets and cut all trade ties with Russia. We must block new visas and residency permits for Russian officials and their families. The fewer dollars Russian business earns and the less tax the Russian state receives, the less opportunity the Russian military will have to kill our people, Ukrainians.

To conclude my remarks, I would like to stress again that Ukraine is committed to justice, peace and security not only for itself but for the whole of the Euro-Atlantic community. The future of the global security architecture is being decided in Ukraine, and the ability of the coalition of the democratic states to take on the current threats and challenges in Ukraine will have a direct impact on their own future. We continue to fight, and we will win.