Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank him for his unequivocal and heartening remarks. These are the latest in a series of consistent remarks of support from the Irish Government since the war began two years ago. I also welcome H.E. Larysa Gerasko to the Chamber. She is a good friend of so many of the Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. I got to know the ambassador just before the war broke out. We had our fears at the time and, unfortunately, they were well-founded. Why are we at a two-year stage? We can say that the sanctions are not biting hard enough. We can say that the US is divided on the matter of its support and should be doing more.Sometimes we forget to spare a thought for the innocent Russians who have to live under that dictator. An article published recently in The Economiston internal suppression in the country stated:

Cowed compliance is no longer enough for the president who, like any paranoid dictator, sees danger everywhere; the number of treason cases each year has gone up tenfold since the start of the war. With its opponents rotting in jail, dead or exiled ... [...]

This internal war is waged against the young and cosmopolitan in Russia’s great cities. Any mention or display of LGBT attributes has been criminalised. Access to abortion has been restricted. Priests who preach peace instead of victory have been expelled from the church. Children as young as four are being dressed in military fatigues to play “patriotic games”. Schools have been prescribed textbooks declaring that Russia has always been at war with the West. Halloween and Valentine’s Day have been demoted as alien holidays, while the Chinese new year has been elevated almost to the level of a state holiday, [surprise, surprise] with lanterns and dragons decorating the centre of Moscow. China, after all, is seen as Russia’s ally in its war against the West.

Maybe that is an area we could review. Perhaps we could reach China and break that bond. Perhaps the Irish Government with its diplomatic influence could consider doing further work there. The article continues to say that private property has been violated in Russia, noting that: "Dozens of private firms have been nationalised without compensation. First it was foreign assets that Mr Putin was after. Now it is Russian businessmen who have been told to return assets that they legally bought in the 1990s." Criticising the war in Russia can result not just in prison sentences, as we all know well, but in loss of property. Further in the article it states: "On February 14th Mr Putin signed a law that allows the confiscation of property and assets from people convicted of discrediting the Russian army or spreading [so-called] “fakes”, calling for sanctions or helping international organisations that Russia does not take part in."

It is easier said than done and I understand opponents are being persecuted and suppressed, but Putin continues because of, and sustained by, fear. He reigns through fear. He injects fear in people. We know what happens when people question Putin and in a war situation he has doubled down. Until the fear is overcome by the people of Russia it is going to be very difficult to have a definitive moment in this war. I fear that is the case, to use the word "fear" in a different context. We must overcome fear to ignite the flame of freedom. That is what has to happen. It can happen all over the world, but we must hope and pray it happens in Russia, that they can overcome the fear they are under, the fear for their lives and for their freedom, in order to ignite that vital flame of freedom. It is a lot to ask for, but if we want a seismic catalysing moment, the catalyst for this is to overthrow Putin. It will not take tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, but millions of Russians to somehow come together and overthrow this dictator.

Sanctions are not biting sufficiently. We were told they take time, but it is reasonable after two years to reflect on the sanctions to date. They are having an effect, but it is very difficult to say in any objective way that they are having the desired effect because that is not the case, so we must redouble sanctions. On this sad anniversary, maybe the message can come out from Ireland - and we lead on this - that sanctions must be redoubled.

We need a stronger EU in its battle to face down Putin. We need Irish influence through the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day ministerial visits like never before, especially to talk to Republican members of Congress. We must further expedite Ukraine’s request to become part of the European family because that is where the ambassador’s country belongs. I have seen at first hand, since this awful, brutal war broke out, Ukraine’s solidarity with its European family. It is epitomised by the Lithuanian ambassador to Ireland, who is very welcome. All the EU family has stood with Ukraine, but we must do more. As an international community, we were asleep at the wheel when the invasion of Crimea happened in 2014. We are paying a big price for not doing enough in 2014. We should be extremely concerned by the new poll findings that suggest 10% of Europeans believe Ukraine can still defeat Russia. As I said about the awful death of Alexei Navalny, one cannot kill hope when hope, life and fairness springs eternal. Let us be in no doubt that if Ukraine loses this war against Russia there will be further significant risk to our European values that we cherish so much. Fortunately, support for Ukraine remains strong and most Europeans are desperate to prevent a Russian victory. It is up to us all in the democratic world to show leadership in this matter and to support our fellow democratic state, Ukraine, against Vladimir Putin’s thuggish ambition.