Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have just come from the Dáil, where we have agreed a motion expressing our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. I understand that the Seanad will also shortly consider a motion on the issue and I wholeheartedly support its efforts in doing so. I know that party leaders have been talking about how they might do that this evening or tomorrow. It is right that both Houses of the Oireachtas are engaged on this vital issue. I hope we will have all-party support on a motion that we worked hard to write with that in mind. We have used UN language that is clear and deliberately does not go into great detail to try to ensure we have a clear, positive and firm message coming from all parts of this Oireachtas and from all parties.

In the early morning of Thursday last week we saw a large-scale assault by Russian forces on Ukraine. Through its decision to launch an invasion, and by violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has brought war back to European soil for the first time in many decades. The message from Ireland and the EU in response has been one of clear and unwavering support for the people of Ukraine and for Ukraine as a sovereign country. Ireland is a militarily neutral nation but we are certainly not neutral, and I hope never will be, in terms of political neutrality on the bombardment of innocent civilians, laying siege to cities and the unprovoked military assault on a sovereign nation that is looking for peace.

We have been very clear in demanding that Russia withdraw its forces immediately from Ukraine's territory. I am greatly concerned by reports of the deployment of cluster munitions in Ukraine's second largest city in the past 24 hours and also of missile strikes directly from the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The Ukrainian Government is facing extraordinary challenges, as indeed are ordinary people across Ukraine. It is important that we are clear that the EU will not abandon Ukraine as it struggles for survival against Russian aggression.

I have never seen the EU as united as it has been in response to this crisis and I have been around in politics for a while. We have put in place extensive measures with major financial consequences for Russia. The EU has essentially agreed three significant sanctions packages in four to five days, which is an extraordinary pace of movement given how complex EU institutions are and how they normally arrive at decisions. We have closed EU airspace to Russian aircraft, we have frozen the assets of the Russian Central Bank in the EU and have added many more individuals to the sanctions list. I think approximately 500 individuals are now on that list. We are excluding key Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, SWIFT, system; sanctioning more oligarchs on top of the more than 100 already listed; sanctioning Belarus for its role and support of these war efforts; and banning Russian media outlets that disseminate disinformation across the EU.

The EU has also shown strong and active support for Ukraine's efforts to defend itself. Two days ago, along with our EU colleagues, we agreed a package of €500 million in military assistance for the Ukrainian military through the European Peace Facility, EPF. Ireland will pay our full share in those efforts and our proportion will be approximately €10 million. The allocation key for the EPF means that Ireland will pay approximately 1.9% of total expenditure on any project. There is now a commitment to spend €500 million, which means we will end up spending between €9 million and €10 million in those efforts. The money that we spend will go exclusively towards the provision of non-lethal support such as helmets, bulletproof vests, medical equipment, fuel and other equipment that has been requested from the Ukrainian side.

In response to the humanitarian crisis, we have removed all visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens seeking to enter Ireland. I suspect that many thousands will make the choice to do so. Ireland has also led the response at UN level, ensuring that an urgent session of the UN General Assembly was convened after the Russian Federation used its veto at the Security Council to prevent a strong resolution being passed. It is important to say that the Russian Federation was the only country to vote against that resolution. A small number of countries decided to abstain but Russia was on its own, isolated in the Security Council, while in the chair and using its veto to protect its own interests. We hope and expect that a majority of the members of the UN General Assembly will support a clear and robust resolution to condemn this outright violation of the UN Charter, which is exactly what this is. We are pushing today at the Security Council for the adoption of a resolution calling for safe and unhindered humanitarian access for all. I hope we will be able to find agreement on this resolution, even with Russia.

On the sensitive consular issues relating to this crisis, officials are in ongoing contact with the remaining Irish citizens in Kyiv and across Ukraine. The number fluctuates daily but my information today is that it stands at just under 80. We are in constant contact with families regarding surrogacy arrangements in Ukraine. A number of parents have been and continue to be in very difficult circumstances. We are working through those cases with them to try to find a way of uniting parents with newborn children through surrogate mothers. This is not easy in a war zone.

I take this opportunity to underline that the deep concerns that I have outlined about the actions of the Russian leadership does not diminish the friendship and respect we have for ordinary Russian citizens, including those who have built a future in Ireland and many of whom have protested bravely against this invasion across Russia and the world.I say directly to Russian citizens in Ireland: we do not hold you responsible for the decisions of the Kremlin and your Government. No Irish person should single out a Russian, a Russian family or a Russian child in Ireland and blame them for what is happening in terms of the devastating consequences of war in Ukraine. Any Russians I have been in contact with are appalled by what is happening and the decisions being made by their leadership.

There can be no justification for threatening to use nuclear weapons. I have called on Russian to immediately revoke the order to place nuclear weapons on high-alert status and I urge maximum restraint and de-escalation. Many countries join us in those calls.

I wish to underline that enormous damage and destruction has been done. The loss of human life is truly shocking. In some ways, this is the first war to be literally played out live on social media. When one sees charred bodies of civilians on streets in civilian residential areas who were targeted by cluster munitions or other lethal weaponry, one realises that Europe is being reminded of the horrors of war on the back of the decisions Russia has made. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, estimates that approximately 500,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring countries - mostly in the EU - such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, the four countries bordering Ukraine, and Moldova. They have been put under extraordinary pressure as a result of what is happening. However, we can expect many more. Poland alone has, in the past 24 hours, seen more than 100,000 Ukrainians flow across its border. The estimates of 1 million or more Ukrainians fleeing conflict in Ukraine will certainly happen and I believe it will go well beyond that number. Ensuring that we play our part in responding to the human response that is necessary for that number of people, I expect it will mean that many Ukrainians will come to Ireland. We need to find a way to ensure they will be welcomed and looked after here in respect of their dignity and plight.

There is still time for Russia to choose a path of reason, restraint and diplomacy. What has happened will not be forgotten - that is for sure - and we need to ensure people are held to account for the atrocities that have happened over the past four to five days. I was glad that the International Criminal Court, ICC, has formally opened a file on potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. We will support the ICC fully in its work, as we always do, as a global entity that ensures, in wartime situations, we continue to fight against impunity and breaches of international humanitarian law. What has happened will not be forgotten, but we can still work towards peace and resolution, which should be everybody's focus. It must be our goal, ultimately, to bring this conflict to an end as soon as possible through intensive diplomacy and intense pressure from the EU with partners from around the world, through sanctions and the further isolation of Russia so that the message is very clear. A continuation of this war will have dire consequences for Russia as well as the country it has, unfortunately, chosen to attack.

I thank Senators for this opportunity. Unfortunately, I will not be able to stay for the entire debate, but I will try to stay for as long as I can.