Taoiseach: Ireland prepared to send Irish peacekeepers to Ukraine 

Any peacekeeping force would need to be under an international mandate based on UN principles, Micheál Martin is said to have told a virtual meeting of EU leaders. File picture: Leah Farrell

Ireland is prepared to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, the Taoiseach had indicated to EU leaders at an emergency summit.

Defence Forces members could be deployed as part of a peacekeeping force in future if a ceasefire is secured. 

Any peacekeeping force would need to be under an international mandate based on UN principles, Mr Martin is said to have told the virtual meeting.

The Taoiseach also reiterated his call for an accelerated accession process for Ukraine to the EU, saying that it would help provide security guarantees for the country.

The meeting, organised by French president Emmanuel Macron, included EU leaders, as well as those from Canada, Iceland, and Norway.

There was agreement at the summit that any peace deal with Russia must be just, sustainable, and durable.

It comes as tensions between Ukraine and the US further escalated on Wednesday, with US president Donald Trump branding Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” who had done a "terrible job". 

He said Mr Zelenskyy "better move fast" to secure peace or he would have no country left.

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskiy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.

He also accused Mr Zelenskyy — without evidence — of benefiting from continuing US financial and military support, suggesting he had an interest in prolonging the war rather than seeking its end. 

Mr Trump’s latest comments cast serious doubt on future US aid to Ukraine and mark the most explicit threat yet to end the war on terms favourable to Moscow.

He made the comments hours after Mr Zelenskyy accused the US leader of being “trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble”. 

The Ukrainian president, in a combative press conference in Kyiv, said Mr Trump was pushing “a lot of disinformation coming from Russia”.

Additional reporting Reuters