Irish embassy in Kyiv officially reopens for first time since Russian invasion

Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, at a press conference in Bucha in Ukraine in April. 

The Embassy of Ireland in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has officially re-opened, it has been announced.

The Embassy announced its closure on February 24, the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Thereafter, embassy staff began working remotely from Dublin, before moving to the Polish capital of Warsaw.

In the aftermath of the Russian advance, dozens of countries shut their embassies and pulled their diplomatic staff out of Ukraine.

However, since mid-May —when the United States officially reopened its embassy in Kyiv — several countries have begun sending their staff back to the Ukrainian capital.

Britain's ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, returned to Kyiv with an expanded security detail at the end of April.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday the team’s key priority would "be renewing and building their network of contacts with Ukrainian government officials to better inform Ireland’s provision of support and assistance to the government and people of Ukraine.” 

A Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson said it is "closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine together with our EU and other international partners."

The spokesperson said that the Irish embassy in Kyiv, which only officially opened in August 2021, would be functioning "with very limited capacity to provide any in-person consular assistance" going forward.

The DFA continues to strongly advise against all travel to Ukraine, for any purpose.