Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Calling on someone to withdraw from occupied territories is something they should do. We want to get the embassy in Kyiv up and running, have the ambassador there and have it functioning again. There are some issues around security. I do not know the details of that but I know the Tánaiste is working on it.

I absolutely agree that escalation is not a solution but what is the alternative? Is it to allow Russia a free hand to massacre the Ukrainian people, occupy their capital and take away their freedoms and democracy? I know the Deputy is not saying that but it not the case that anyone thinks escalation is a solution. Weapons are being provided to Ukraine because if they are not provided, the conflict will escalate anyway. Russia will enter the big cities and will do in those cities - Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa - exactly what it has done in the cities it has occupied. It is not a choice between escalation or de-escalation. Russia will escalate this war anyway, kill more civilians and commit the most heinous atrocities. The reason weapons are being provided to Ukraine is to hold Russia back. That is the impossible choice that countries bigger than ours are now making.

I want to be very clear, however, that we do call for de-escalation. We want Russia to cease fire, stop its advance, stop the missile attacks and air strikes on civilian targets and pull back from the territories it has occupied. That would put us in a different place. I do not think western governments would have to provide additional armaments to Ukraine if that were to happen. It is important that we never allow anyone to doubt that all of us in this House believe that Russia is the aggressor. I know the Deputies opposite are not supporters of Vladimir Putin or the Russian regime but I think it is important that in their comments they do not create the impression that this is somehow a war between equals. This is a big country against a small country. This is an aggressor against a country that has been attacked. There is a big difference between providing weapons to a country that is defending itself and providing support to a country that is on the attack. Just like the Deputies, I am appalled to see the arms industry making money and increasing profits as a result of what is happening in Ukraine. I would much rather see that money being spent on reconstruction.

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