Taoiseach to assure Zelenskyy Ireland is 100% behind Ukraine
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Council president Charles Michel with fellow European Union leaders in Brussels. Picture: Virginia Mayo/AP
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is due to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later today and said he will assure him that Ireland and the Irish people are 100% behind Ukraine.
EU countries have been split into groups to ensure EU leaders can get face-to-face time with the Ukrainian president.
Mr Varadkar will be meeting Mr Zelenskyy alongside leaders from Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Mr Zelenskyy held a press conference with president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during which he once again called for additional arms, including fighter jets.
He gave an indication that some EU leaders have signalled that they were ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft to help fight against Russia's invasion.
"Europe will be with us until our victory. I've heard it from a number of European leaders... about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft," he told a packed room of journalists at a press conference in Brussels.
"I have a number of bilaterals now; we are going to raise the issue of the fighter jets and other aircraft.”
He said for his country to survive, he needs to go back to the people of Ukraine following today’s summit with assurances of additional military and financial funds.
“I haven’t got the right to come back without results,” he told the press conference.
He said he wants EU leaders to move from sending signals to concrete agreements and not to be afraid of Russia hearing “your powerful voice and concrete support". He said his trip to London where he met British prime minister Rishi Sunak achieved results and moved towards solutions regarding long-range missiles.
He also noted Britain would train Ukrainian pilots which has been seen as a signal by many that warplanes could potentially follow in the future.
He also said some agreements he made while in London could not be made public as he did not want to prepare the Russian Federation “which constantly threatens us with aggression.”
He described his meeting in Paris on Wednesday night with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as “very powerful”. Again, he said he did not want to announce anything publicly. But he said discussions took place on the “enhancement” of equipment.
He said Ukraine is now at the most important stage of the war, stating his country’s troops have stopped the Russians but now Ukraine has to win.
At the press conference, Mr Zelenskyy said he hopes EU leaders understand that when help is provided to Ukraine “you help yourself” and also in a practical way “so you later don’t have to defend yourself.”
European Commission president Ms von der Leyen told the room of journalists, including Ukrainian media, that the EU is supporting Ukraine to win this war.
She said Russia must pay for the destruction caused and “for the blood spilled".
She said the next round of sanctions against Russia, which will be in place on the one-year anniversary of the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin, will seek to “starve Russia’s military machine”. She added that Russia’s lies are poisonous and their propaganda will also be targeted.
Ms von der Leyen also mentioned setting up a centre in the Hague to consider war crimes prosecutions and an eventual tribunal, adding that the EU had the political will to hold Mr Putin accountable.
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