John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Friday marks the first anniversary of the brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine, the impact of which on the psyche of the body politic of Europe can be compared to that of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Indeed, it may take a generation or more before the full implications can be measured of the decision by President Putin to put a torch to the norms of international behaviour which have governed Europe since World War II. The scale of horror, the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, the torture and murder of innocent people, along with the forced deportation of more than 16,000 children from Ukraine to Russia, remain difficult to comprehend. What remains abundantly clear, though, and what invites no debate or equivocation, is the moral imperative for the international community to give its full support to the International Criminal Court and its ongoing investigations and attempts to gather evidence on those responsible for the horrific attacks visited on a civilian population. All war crimes must be fully investigated and the perpetrators held to account.

I also, though, have a moral responsibility here as a Member of this Dáil to call attention to the need for the Government to use its position within the international community to advocate, in the strongest possible terms, for the universal application of international law and the pursuit of all transgressors, including Israel, which has habitually engaged in war crimes against the Palestinian people.

In the last year, we have welcomed more than 75,000 Ukrainians to Ireland who were forced to flee their homeland in the face of Russian aggression. These people represent a small portion of the 14 million Ukrainians who have been displaced by the invasion, more than 8 million of whom were forced to flee from Ukraine's borders. Yesterday, I and my colleagues met the ambassadors of Ukraine and Moldova at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, where I once again offered my party's full support to the people of Ukraine and their right to defend their territorial integrity. It is my hope that I will be able to meet both ambassadors in the near future as fellow EU citizens.

We are a people who for centuries were forced to resist the ambitions of a large aggressive neighbour that was drunk on its own ambition and absolutely convinced of its right to impose its rule on our people. Just as we, the Irish people, retain the right to rule ourselves as a sovereign people, so must it be for the people of Ukraine. I also mention Moldova, a tiny nation which is in the direct line of Russian economic and military fire, yet which has performed at an extraordinary level in its efforts to provide humanitarian support to those who reached that nation's borders when fleeing for their lives.

I have stood at the border and witnessed first-hand the scale of the sacrifice the Moldovan people are prepared to make in the name of humanity. The Government has a responsibility to ensure we extend every support we can to the Moldovan Government as Russia continues its attempts to destabilise that country.

The impact of the Russian invasion has been wide-ranging, with huge implications for many nations, none more so than the global south. More than 300 million people on the African continent are facing food insecurity. Fifteen African countries import 50% of their wheat produce from either Ukraine or Russia. With a shortage of 30 million tonnes of grain in 2022 and with sharp increases and accompanying shortages of fertiliser, the impact of war is adding to the existing effects of regional instability and climate change. It is critical the Black Sea grain initiative is renewed. Ireland, like other militarily non-aligned states, must now take the step and lead moves towards finding a path to peace, bringing an end to the suffering of the Ukrainian people and to this illegal war.

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