Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach. There is mention in the Order of Business of war crimes and genocide within Europe. It is very timely we discuss that in the context of the events in Ukraine. This week we were all treated to a graphic courtesy of Russa-1, Moscow's state television, in which we were shown an infographic purporting to show a submarine nuclear drone that would have the power to generate a tsunami or tidal wave to destroy both Ireland and our neighbours in Britain. As the Kremlin spokesperson put it, it would turn both Ireland and Britain into a nuclear desert. While I think the idea is farcical and outside the realms of what is scientifically possible given the Russians do not possess such weapons, it gives us an insight into their intent and what their next steps might be.My fear is that deprived of a conventional victory in Donbas and certainly having been pushed back from Kyiv, Putin along with his administration and those who empower him may consider the use of tactical nuclear missiles. Unlike the weapon that the Russians purported to possess, they do possess 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons and have deployed 1,500 of them. All the talk thus far has been about supplying weapons to Ukraine, with which I agree, to support the Ukrainians in their resistance against the Russians. However, we now need to begin to talk about de-escalation and bringing this conflict to a halt. We need to have a ceasefire.

This is a standard conventional conflict and, in the past, the United Nations has been able to suggest very robust Chapter 7 interventions to create a buffer zone with the agreement of all parties. We need to look for that. The UN Security Council needs to push this line. The UN Secretary General, Mr. Guterres, is in Nigeria today, but with the risk of nuclear escalation and a war that none of us wants to find ourselves in, this is what we should be pushing for. That would allow for a full and proper investigation of war crimes in Kharkiv, Irpin, Kherson, Mariupol and so on. The House should debate the alternatives to just sending weapons, and work on ways of constructing a ceasefire and getting a good robust UN intervention to bring a halt to the killing and prevent escalation.