Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to welcome ambassador Gerasko Larysa and the Ukrainian population to our Dáil Chamber this evening, and all those who are in the Public Gallery.

It is very hard to believe it is now three years since the war in Ukraine began. I remember the morning it began. I was in my office watching "Sky News" and there was huge fear for the capital that Russian troops would advance on Kyiv. People said it would not last two or three days. There was talk that President Zelenskyy may have to flee to America - can we imagine if he had fled there? - but he stood his ground, and the Ukrainian people stood their ground. It is a testament to the resilience of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian armed forces that they have withstood three years of Russian invasion and aggression. In another political arena, President Zelenskyy is now perversely being dubbed a dictator. He is a hero, and that needs to be on the Dáil record. He is a bastion for democracy in a region of our world where the strongman, the Kalashnikov and the missile are seen as the tools to subvert a people, invade a country, kill 46,000 people, displace 12 million people and kidnap thousands of children. These are the actions of a dictator. These are the actions of Vladmir Putin.

In the early days of the Ukrainian war, I remember seeing on the news on television one night a Ukrainian man who had fought in the Red Army that had liberated Europe. He was almost 100 years of age, and he had medals across his chest to prove it. He broke down in tears to think that the army he believed in, the army that liberated Europe, could 80 years later be the same army to invade his homeland, kidnap children, bomb hospitals and murder civilians. Shame on Russia. Shame on Putin. It is Putin who is the dictator in Europe, and the Russian people eventually through election or whatever means will need to elect a democratic leader to rule their country in the proper way. The Russian Embassy across town is keeping an eye on us today. There are 52 of us - I am one of them - on the Kremlin blacklist, and I have no problem remaining there for as long as I am alive because we can be proud as a Dáil and as a Government for standing in the many ranks of politicians globally who have stood up against the dictatorship and bullying of the Russian state at this time.

A comparison can be drawn with what we are seeing in Russia and Ukraine with Operation Barbarossa of 1941 the same way tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border. Ireland, as a member of the European Union, needs to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people so that they get peace but more importantly, that their territorial boundaries are retained. Anyone who studies Irish history - we are all experts on it down here, but maybe our Ukrainian friends do not know Irish history so well - will know that Ireland endured 800 years of invading forces and plantations. In 1921, it was believed that in 1922 a deal could be brokered, and it would lead to peace and we could still have territory. It did not, because there is still a corner of our country occupied. We had the Good Friday Agreement, but it is only a stepping stone to unification. It is a source of hurt for this country even a century later that Northern Ireland exists as an entity.

I want to welcome in particular Misha Yerhidzé from west Kerry who is in the Public Gallery. My colleagues want to pay particular tribute to you in a moment, but we are particularly proud of you. I saw you on the news the other day. Tá tú go hiontach ar an mbosca ceoil, agus cuirim fáilte mhór romhat chuig Dáil Éireann inniu. Is fear iontach thú. Go raibh míle maith agat. I want to pay tribute to the many communities that have fantastically welcomed the Ukrainian people; true friendships have been born. It is important that the Government in the coming months reflects on how some of the Ukrainian population are in full-time employment and full-time education here. There needs to be some mechanism whereby if they are that embedded in society, working or being educated here, they can remain here and contribute to our country just as we have contributed to their welfare.

It is so important at a time when there seems to be loud-hailing of democracy and talking down President Zelenskyy and his people, that this Government and Parliament has faith in the Ukrainian people and in President Zelenskyy and says "Slava Ukraini".

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