Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A little over three years ago, when the Russian troops rolled into Ukraine, I think few of us had any confidence that the Ukrainians or the Ukrainian army could resist that attack; barbaric as it was, sudden, yet not entirely unexpected in many quarters, but it was absolutely ferocious. We have been surprised, and perhaps very much impressed, by how Ukrainian forces have managed to not just keep back the Russians, but actually take back land and ground and to assert themselves in the context of a brutal conflict.

I visited Ukraine shortly after war broke out in May 2022, along with my colleague, Senator Garrett Ahearn. We were the first parliamentarians from Ireland to visit Kyiv after the outbreak of war. It was the first time standing in Kyiv, talking to ordinary Ukrainian people, and our colleagues in the Verkhovna Rada - politicians in Ukraine - that I got the impression that Ukraine actually could do that and that it had been underestimated in terms of its approach to the war. Three years later, I have not changed my view in that regard. I am deeply impressed by the resilience and the commitment of Ukrainian people to defending their homeland and to ensuring they do not again become a province of a state ruled from Moscow.

It is astonishing to see the Russian attitude to this. Rather than being honest about what it is actually doing and that this is a land grab and an imperialistic move by Vladimir Putin - not that that is surprising - it puts this rhetoric out there, perhaps even believing that those of us who know what is happening might actually believe it or subscribe in any way to its apparent justification for what has happened. That baffles me, to be perfectly honest, perhaps not as much as the attitude of the current US Administration does. The notion that there is a solution to this war that can be arrived at without Ukraine's involvement or assent is a nonsense. I do not know how Donald Trump thinks for a moment that that could even hold if Ukraine is not involved and it does not buy into it. If Trump thinks he can, he has underestimated Ukraine in exactly the same way that Vladimir Putin did when he started this war three years ago. That attitude is not going to help. The reality is that any ceasefire or deal at this point that consolidates the position of the Russian forces in terms of occupying places such as Crimea must be unacceptable.

I am immensely proud of the European reaction and the Irish reaction to this, both in terms of what we have done to help those who fled the war, particularly in eastern Ukraine, but also in terms of the humanitarian response. Communities the length and breadth of this country have shown their compassion and understanding of where Ukrainians are. There is a way to go yet. It is not over, but I have faith in Ukrainians' ability to stand up for themselves, along with the necessary support of the European Union and European Union countries.

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