'Thank you for not losing faith in us' - Zelenskyy grateful for Ireland's steadfast support
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with Taoiseach Micheal Martin at the Government Buildings in Dublin, during his visit to Ireland. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA
"Never lose your faith in Ukraine".
That was the plea to the Irish people from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an address to the Oireachtas on an official visit to Ireland, Mr Zelenskyy thanked the Irish people for their "steadfast support" just as a peace deal which could decide the fate of his country was being discussed by Russian and American envoys in Moscow.
In his speech to TDs and senators, Mr Zelenskyy said that while there is fatigue in some societies about the ongoing war, his country does “not feel your voice, the voice of Ireland, is turning quieter”.
“Thank you for not losing faith in us, just as we do not lose faith that the day will come when we will welcome all our friends to Ukraine in peace and when we will welcome home all our people who were forced to flee, back to a peaceful Ukraine," he added.
In an earlier joint press conference, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland has given €340m in aid to Ukraine and stands ready to contribute peacekeepers to the country if a deal is reached.
“Ireland will be open to monitoring any ceasefire or, indeed, aspects of a peace settlement,” Mr Martin said.
“We have long experience in Lebanon and in Africa in terms of peace monitoring and peacekeeping.
“Certainly, we're wishing to contribute to peacekeeping and to peace monitoring in Ukraine. Ireland is open to that."
Mr Martin vowed to be “proactive” in securing Ukraine’s membership of the European Union and to “continue to engage with the Ukrainian community in Ireland”, noting that while many are here as Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, Ireland will “have to work” with them.
In the same press conference, Mr Zelenskyy said that he was "grateful" for the support of the Irish Government for his people.
The Government recently announced that it was curtailing the number of days a Ukrainian refugee can stay in State accommodation from 90 to 30, as well as introducing cuts to the accommodation recognition payment.
When asked if he was worried Irish support for Ukraine is waning, Mr Zelenskyy told the he is grateful for all support.
“Ireland, from the very beginning of the war, chose this side, in my opinion, an honest side, not because I'm the president of Ukraine, but because that's the right thing,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy had earlier met with President Catherine Connolly at Aras an Uachtaráin, writing in a visitors' book it "is a great honour to visit Ireland" alongside his wife, Olena Zelenska.
"On behalf of the people of Ukraine, I express my sincere gratitude for Ireland's steadfast support during our fight against Russian aggression," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"We greatly appreciate Ireland's generosity in providing temporary shelter to displaced Ukrainians."
Mr Zelenskyy's visit to Ireland came as Moscow claimed it had taken the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important logistics hub in the eastern Donetsk region and as two representatives of the US president prepared to meet with the Russian president.
However, moments before his scheduled meeting with Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in the Kremlin, Russian president Vladimir Putin accused European governments of sabotaging the peace process and declared that “European demands are not acceptable to Russia.”
“Europe is preventing the US administration from achieving peace on Ukraine,” he said.
Washington and European capitals have backed Kyiv in proposing revisions to a 28-point peace plan developed in earlier US–Russia contacts that dramatically favoured Moscow.
Posting on social media as he prepared to depart Dublin, Mr Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet US President Donald Trump.
“I am ready to receive all the signals and ready for a meeting with President Trump. Everything depends on today’s discussions,” Mr Zelenskyy said on X.
While in Dublin, Mr Zelenskyy had said that Europe and America are attempting to bring an end to the war, but there needs to be guarantees in place to make sure “Russia would not come back with the third invasion” in 10 years.
“What will happen tomorrow when our soldiers go back home, finally go back home?” he said.
“When they go back home, become engineers, teachers, various professions, and they'll come back, but Russia will continue building up their army and defences, preparing for the next invasion.
“Who can tolerate and endure that? Our people are strong, but with all due respect, that's why we want a certainty."
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