Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are now witnessing a war of aggression in Europe, something we believed was consigned to our history books. The bravery and heroism of Ukrainian soldiers, its President and its people is profound. We in Ireland must do everything we can to protect and support Ukraine and its people. The Ukrainian people and their Government did not seek this war with Russia, instead this conflict has been thrust upon them by a man detached from the reality of the modern world. The Ukrainian people did not invade Russia. The Ukrainian people did not ship separatists to Donbas or Crimea. The Ukrainian people did not use cluster bombs on apartment blocks. The Ukrainian people did not target hospitals, killing countless innocent children. Vladimir Putin did. He has taken the course that has been chosen by history's worst monsters. He is a tyrant, whose fear and ideological crusade of greed and conquest will reduce the Russian Federation to a pariah state, without access to international investment, support, or sympathy.

A simultaneous war of disinformation is raging in Russia itself, which is why the international community must reach past the Kremlin and speak directly to the Russian people through any means possible. I applaud the steps that are being taken to do this online but we must do more. Ukrainian citizens can come to Ireland without the burden of normal processes. We will support them with housing, healthcare, education and, most importantly, family reunification.

We do not yet know where this war will lead us. Putin is intent on redrawing the map of Europe and the restoration of some imagined idea of Russian empire. It was around this time eight years ago in 2014 that Ukrainian civilians, that is, normal people - mothers, fathers, teachers, bus drivers, nurses and shop workers - took to the streets and to Maidan Square in Kyiv in what became known as the Revolution of Dignity. They protested a Government seeking to prevent their country moving towards the European Union. I have visited Ukraine twice in recent years and on behalf of the Oireachtas, I observed its free and fair elections. Ukraine has the right to self-determination and to determine its own foreign policy.

Ignoring evil will not stop evil. I commend Russian citizens who have had the courage to protest this war in Russian cities, knowing a despotic dictator such as Putin would have them arrested, which he did. Today, we see again the dignity of the people of Ukraine and their rightful President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. We must support their efforts to become an EU member state as quickly as possible. The international community must continue to roll out crippling sanctions, including in hard-to-reach places, like legally complex investment vehicles right here in Ireland. We must seize the aggressors' wealth immediately. I commend this motion. Slava Ukraini.

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