Mr. Dmytro Natalukha:

Dear ladies and gentlemen, esteemed Cathaoirleach, esteemed Seanad and distinguished Members, it is a pleasure and a true privilege to address you in this legendary House in your wonderful country. In fact, this is my second time in Ireland. Your outstanding hospitality makes me feel more and more the time wasted that is not spent in Ireland, as Lady Gregory said. To waste time is the last thing I would like us to do, when we talk about the war Russia is waging today against the civilised world, against rules-based societies, against democracies, against freedom, against diversity and everything else that is so dear to us, to the people of Ireland and to the people of Ukraine.

We have even more things in common. We are a very proud nation, just like Ireland, and a rather stubborn one. Members might have noticed this in the past couple of months of war between a country of 140 million against a country of 40 million. In fact, a friend of mine who died defending Mariupol was ready to eat dog food and drink dirty water from puddles for months but was not ready to give up his freedom even for a second. He never did. He never betrayed the aspiration of true freedom, which is a shared European value. However, if Ukrainians are good enough to die as Europeans, we would like to live as Europeans as well. For this very reason, we would like to take this stubbornness of ours from the battlefields into economics. We intend to be as stubborn as possible in rebuilding our country in such a manner that the wildest dreams and aspirations of those who have sacrificed their lives will be realised.

What the deceased want is not revenge - our revenge will be the laughter of our children, as Bobby Sands put it - but a country of happy people living with dignity among equals, a country that is a true member of the European family, a country that is an embodiment of the triumph of western values and principles, and a demonstration that Euro-Atlantic unity and solidarity is as strong as ever. For this reason, we do not consider talks about reconstruction of Ukraine before the war ends a waste of time. We need to start immediately.

It is a separate pleasure to say this in Ireland, a country whose company Kingspan, from County Cavan, will probably be the first western enterprise to invest €200 million in Ukraine even before the war is over. It will invest and not donate. This is critical as we do not want to be a nation of beggars. We want to be a nation of partners. For this very reason, I am here to tell Members that we see the reconstruction of Ukraine as a joint venture and not as a charity project. We want to be fair and kind to everyone who has been fair and kind to us.I will finish by re-phrasing Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington, an outstanding Irish woman and true patriot of her country, with the following:

I recognise no [concessions]. I recognise it as no crime to be in my own country. I would be ashamed of my own name and my murdered [friends'] name[s] if I did.

Long live Ukraine and long live Ireland.