Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland

H.E. Ms Larysa Gerasko:

As well as Russia itself, or at least some regions of it. As the Deputy knows, the Kremlin and Putin do not care about their own population. They have bunker for themselves. What can happen with the Russian population or with Russian people is not a matter of concern for Russian authorities. It seems it is very clear. Russia uses most sources of the budget for military use, for producing and manufacturing weapons and ammunition. It just finances war against Ukraine, not its population. Most of the Russian population lives in poverty. Russia's people are quite poor.