Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Ukrainian ambassador, H.E. Larysa Gerasko, to the Chamber. We have come to know the ambassador well in recent years. She has engaged extensively with politicians in this House and the Lower House. She has done a fantastic job of keeping the issue to the fore, despite other things happening in the world. It is important that we maintain our focus on what is happening in Ukraine because there is still a war on Europe's borders.

It is hard to believe we are two years into this conflict now. There has been an impact on the people of Ukraine, but also on Europe with the mass migration of people across the EU. Many have found sanctuary and a home in Ireland and have integrated well into our communities. Yesterday or the day before, I watched with a warm heart the RTÉ coverage of schools in rural parts of Ireland that had been almost at closing point and that have been reinvigorated with new life breathed into those communities and of the difference that has made to parts of our country. As one teacher put it, the diversity in the school community now is something to be grateful for. That is the lovely part of this. However, I watched one mother talk about her son going to school who said that was a happy place because when he is with her, she is troubled because of what she is going through. She is dealing with the fact that her husband and the rest of her family are still in Ukraine. That the human element. It is difficult to imagine how the large number of women and children who live in Ireland, women who have left their husbands, partners and elder sons behind to fight on the front line, deal with that level of trauma and with waking up every day wondering whether they will get bad news that day. That is what they live with every day of the week.

That story is replicated in every member state of the European Union that has become home to Ukrainian refugees who have fled the conflict because they cannot live in Ukraine any more. That is the human impact. I was watching Euronews this morning and learned that 2,500 Ukrainians have made Japan their home. They have gone beyond Europe, which was amazing to see. Again, another young mother, who had left her husband behind, and her son have spent the past two years living in Japan. They went to Germany first where they lived in a refugee camp and then they decided to make the journey to Japan. These are incredible stories. I think about the impact that will have in two generations' time and the stories they will have to tell. Many of those who have been displaced and have fled will possibly never make it home to Ukraine. The longer they are away, the longer they spend growing up in a community and the more children become integrated and make friends, the more difficult it will become to return home, although their hearts and families will still be in Ukraine. It is a challenging time and we have become used to this being our norm now, but those people are still dealing with that trauma every day. It is a very live trauma for them.

There has been an impact on Europe and sometimes we fail to grasp the existential crisis for countries bordering Ukraine, such as Poland. The question is often asked, if Putin succeeds in taking Ukraine, where will he go next? Let us not think for a second he will stop there and bed in. There will be somewhere else to go after that. It is unfortunate that NATO has stopped short of defending Ukraine properly. Ukraine cannot defend itself alone. It is too small and Russia is too big. Although arms are being provided it is not proving to be enough. In the poll Senator Ward referred to that was done across 12 member states - if I am correct, Ireland was not polled - only one in ten Europeans believe Ukraine can be successful, mainly because its counter-offensive has not been successful to date. It is a real David and Goliath story because, as Russia has shown in history, it will just outlast everyone else. That is what they do. The value they place on individual lives is not the value we place on lives. Their Government is quite happy to expend the lives of its citizens in this battle, however long it takes. Ukraine will find it very difficult. Unless it continues to get the support of countries like Ireland and, let us be honest, the bigger countries such as the US, the UK and Europe as a whole, it will not be able to withstand those forces.

We are also focused on the conflict in Palestine and what is happening in the Middle East. A lot is happening globally, which means that sometimes what is happening in Ukraine is not getting as high a level of discussion or focus as it needs. It is important that we not only mark the two-year anniversary but that we continue to debate the issues that are happening at that level. I acknowledge the work being done by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Minister and Minsters of State in that Department, including Deputy Burke. The Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have been extremely strong on this issue and it is consistently raised at European Council level. European leaders understand what is at stake. They know how important it is for the future of Europe and the EU, as regards the geopolitical situation and global stability, that this conflict be resolved. Ultimately, we want to see peace because every day people are losing their lives. There are people dying every day in Ukraine, including Russian soldiers who are there on orders. We have to question that. Young people are heading out under orders who I am sure would like to be somewhere else and I am sure their mothers and fathers would also like them to be somewhere else. That is an issue that comes with conflict.

The message from here is that we want to ensure the Irish Government continues to support Ukraine in whatever way we can. The point has been made that we are not neutral on this conflict; we are very much on the side of the Ukrainian people. This is an illegal invasion. No one condones what is happening and on a global stage we have to be seen to be playing our part in ensuring our voice is a voice for peace and is used to advocate for the people of Ukraine and their right to defend themselves and to protect their territory.

I wish the Minister of State well in his work. The Government has done a good job to date. The longer this goes on, the more difficult it will become to do what we need to do. It is important we continue to do what we have been doing, to fight for the people of Ukraine and to provide practical support, not just words.