John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the ambassadors for coming before our committee again. Much has been said, and correctly so, about the Russian invasion of George in 2008. That was the start of Russia's involvement in occupying other countries. We cannot forget the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. The invasions of Donetsk and Luhansk also occurred around the same time. The reaction of the international community did not go far enough in terms of holding Russia to account. They are the building blocks, unfortunately, which led to where we are today with a full invasion of Ukraine.

I have spoken to the Moldovan ambassador many times. As I alluded to earlier, the Committee on European Union Affairs visited Moldova in April 2022 and it left a lasting impact on me and the other committee members who were there. It has been often said that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe but it welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the invasion with open arms. This was really appreciated by so many people. I spoke to people in Siret and Palanca who crossed the border from Odesa into Moldova. They were so grateful that Moldova opened its borders and allowed so many people in. There are still 85,000 Ukrainians in Moldova, a country with very little. Compare this to Ireland, one of the richest countries in Europe, that has in taken in 75,000 Ukrainians. This puts the challenges the invasion has put on other countries into perspective.

I listened to Vladimir Putin's speech earlier, in which he referred to different agreements that have been in place with regard to the so-called frozen conflict in Transnistria. We know that between 1,500 and 2,000 Russian forces are still in occupation in Transnistria. There was an awful lot of speculation, and commentators said from day one that the Russian intent was to move down along the coast of the Black Sea, into Odesa and, ultimately, to link up with landlocked Transnistria to free up that part as per their plans. Thanks to the bravery of the Ukrainians, in defence of their land, they scuppered the Russian plans. There is some concern and it has been reported today that the new Moldovan Prime Minister has said there are plans by Russia to take over the airport in Chisinau and to lead an invasion of its forces into Transnistria. That is in line with what the former Moldovan Prime Minister said on the fear of coups being orchestrated by Russia's destabilising forces in Moldova. Perhaps the ambassador will go into a little bit of detail on this. I know she alluded to some of this in her opening statement earlier. There are major concerns that Russia is still intent on destabilising and occupying Moldova. That is very concerning and worrying. I ask the ambassador to touch on that. In addition, there have been numerous cyberattacks on Moldova. Will she comment on this also?

In her opening statement, the ambassador referred to the energy issue within Moldova and how the attacks on civilian infrastructure and energy production facilities in Ukraine have had a direct impact on Moldova. There has been progress in gas storage that will lead to some sort of energy independence for Moldova but there is still a reliance on Gazprom, which brings gas into Transnistria. Before the invasion, approximately 70% of Moldova's energy came from Transnistria. How dependent is Moldova on the gas supply by Gazprom into Transnistria now? Is that still a major cause of concern? If Russia were to turn off the tap on the gas pipeline into Transnistria, what impact would that have? Russian would say there is a legacy debt for the supply of gas into Transnistria and Moldova. The ambassador might touch on that issue. I know that according to Russia, Moldova owes a sizeable debt.

We absolutely want to see Moldova progress and, ultimately, become a member of the European Union. The same can be said about Georgia and Ukraine. There were previous conversations on the role that Ireland could have in helping in that regard. There was some discussion around the possibility of civil servants helping out by training or upskilling some of the Moldovan civil servants. Have conversations taken place in that regard? It might be useful. One thing we have is extraordinary diplomats and fantastic civil servants. It would be useful if there was a requirement there.