John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. The ambassador is very welcome before our committee. I can only imagine that this is a very difficult time for all Ukrainian citizens given the heightened and escalated military tensions facing its country. I express my solidarity from the outset and my total support for what I see as a very important resolution which has been adopted by the UN as United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 back in 2014 which clearly recognises the territorial integrity of Ukraine. I again send my full support for that resolution and for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Things seem to have moved in a slightly positive direction this morning in the withdrawal or calling back of Russian troops from the border regions into barracks within Russia. Hopefully, that is the start of a de-escalation which is something that I and other members of this committee have called for when we had the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Yuriy Filatov, appear before our committee. Ireland, unfortunately, has been dragged into this also because our waters have been used as a mechanism to sabre-rattle tensions in the carrying out of naval manoeuvres by Russia close to Irish shores. I called on the Russian ambassador at that stage to de-escalate the tensions and a sure way of showing a commitment to that de-escalation would be not just to move that naval manoeuvre out of the exclusive economic zone, but to cancel it in its entirety.

I have also called on NATO to de-escalate the tensions. I have been very vocal on the need to de-escalate and to use the diplomatic channels to ensure that we have a peaceful resolution to what is a very tense situation.

I welcome that some moves have been made to de-escalate. That needs to be followed now by more actions to ensure that diplomacy wins out. I note the commentary of the Russian foreign minister yesterday, Mr. Lavrov, where he said that we need to ensure that all diplomatic channels are followed, which I welcome.

It is still a very challenging time and I note that the EU has been very strong in respect of the repercussions for Russia if it carries out military actions on Ukrainian territory.

That has been very loud and has been heard by the Russians, which is also adding to some of the pull-back in terms of the military build-up. That needs to be followed by NATO, which, in my view, needs to de-escalate the tensions from its side.

It is quite concerning. I am following this very closely and with huge concern. When we hear daily reports that intelligence is coming in that a Russian invasion is imminent and is going to happen within the next 24 or 48 hours, the most level-headed people in the room are actually the Ukrainians. Only a couple of days ago, President Zelenskyy, in playing down some of the concerns and the warnings of a possible invasion within days, said he has not seen any convincing evidence that an invasion was imminent. I would ask that question in the first instance. He asked for intelligence to be shared with Ukraine to show that an invasion was imminent. I would ask whether that intelligence is reliable and whether an invasion was or is still imminent. They say that, in war, the truth is the first victim. An awful lot is being said and it is very hard to determine what is accurate and what is not. I would like to hear this addressed from a Ukrainian perspective.

On "Today with Clare Byrne" yesterday, Fergal Keane reported live from Kyiv that things are normal there and that people are carrying on their daily business. That is not what we are hearing from the Western media, which suggests that citizens are bunkered down and ready for an invasion. I would like to get a first-hand account of what is actually happening on the ground in Ukraine.

I know the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK clarified his remarks when he spoke about the possibility of Ukraine dropping its bid to join NATO. I ask H.E. Ms Gerasko for her views in regard to that also. What does she see as a way out of this? The Ukrainian people are the only ones who can decide their future and what they should or should not be allowed to sign up to, and I say categorically that it should be the decision of Ukraine only.

In the context of the Minsk agreement going back to 2014, I know that had to be revisited in 2015 with version two of that agreement when ceasefires could not be secured. Does the ambassador still see that as a possible long-term solution to the situation in Ukraine? Is that agreement still viable? Why was that agreement never fully implemented and why were ceasefires not fully secured? Why do we still have escalated tensions in the region? Does the ambassador think it is still viable and a possible solution?

When I speak about truth being the first victim in any conflict, there are reports coming out of mercenaries being used on all sides, with reports of Russia building up troops in Donbas and also counter-narratives about mercenaries being sent in to fight from the Ukrainian side. I see some reports being circulated that there are extreme far-right and neo-Nazi groups that have been incorporated into the Ukrainian army to fight against the Russians. The ambassador might take the opportunity to answer that.

There are also reports coming out that Turkey is using some former members of ISIS who have been fighting in places like Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the most recent conflict there, and Libya, and that they are being utilised and put into the conflict zone. Is that the case? If it is not, the ambassador might be able to steer us right on that.

I want to go back to my opening comments. I offer my solidarity to all Ukrainians in what is a very difficult time, given that there is huge concern internationally. I think all Irish people would agree that we are looking for a peaceful outcome and we offer our solidarity.