‘A brave and great man’: Ukrainians in Ireland welcome Zelenskyy to Dublin
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during his visit to Ireland. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
To Svetlana Zakhova, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the embodiment of a “brave and great man”.
On her way to meet him in Dublin, she told the it was a great honour that he is here.
The 50-year-old Cork case worker, who has been living in Ireland since 2002 and works with Cork city’s Together-Razem Centre in Blackpool, said: “I'm actually very proud that our president finally visited Ireland.
“I'm not sure what the benefit of his visit should be, but Ireland is a very positive and supportive country, and I am just so proud that we have him as a president.
“Mr Zelenskyy is the best president Ukraine has ever had, because he stayed with his people. He did not run away, and he gives us all hope that if we stick together, we will win, and we will get through this.”
Svetlana, whose mother, sister, and niece recently fled Ukraine to live with her because of recent Russian attacks, said she hopes her president’s visit will remind people that the country is still at war.
“Since Russia invaded us, there have been new wars elsewhere in the world, and it is easy to see how people can either forget us or just be tired of hearing about it,” she said.
“We need to explain and to remind people that Ukraine still has war, and is still in a very bad situation.
“People still die, and kids still die. There's very hard bombing every day in cities east and west, and there's not any more safe cities left.
“Everywhere is being bombed by the best liar in the world — Vladimir Putin. He is a man who still tells people he doesn’t bomb civilian areas, but he does. He is just spreading rockets everywhere. Nowhere in Ukraine is safe.”
Yana Fedorenko, a Dublin-based administrative worker from the Kyiv region, said: “This visit is a very powerful sign, and it means a lot to Ukrainians — to those back home in Ukraine and to every Ukrainian here in Ireland and abroad.
“It brings pride, connection, and reassurance that Ireland has been on our side from the very beginning and continues to stand with us.
“This visit is so important, because it not only strengthens political and economic support for Ukraine at a crucial moment, but also builds a bridge to new opportunities in the future.”
She added: “As our great Ukrainian poetess Lesia Ukrainka wrote in her famous poem, 'to hope against all hope'.
"We always carry hope in our hearts. It gives us strength. But we are also realistic. Everyone wants peace, but it must be a fair peace for Ukraine, and it must protect its sovereignty.”
Tetyana Antonova, who works at the Association of Ukrainians in the Republic of Ireland community hub in Co Wicklow, was also on her way to meet the president when she spoke to the .
She said: “His visit is a big lift to the spirit, especially when our president is trying to resolve such a difficult situation.
“He means so much to our country because he has united not just so many Ukrainians around him, but also Europe and the world.
“He is also a brave man who didn’t run away when the Russians came, and who is still there.”
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