How far should Ireland go in providing non-lethal aid to Ukraine?

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows no sign of ending, what does Irish neutrality entail and what help can Ireland provide that doesn’t break the stance of the Government, asks security correspondent Cormac O’Keeffe?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Shannon Airport with Taoiseach Simon Harris and Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

A month ago the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland told an Oireachtas committee that she could guarantee the Irish Government that any funding it gives for air-defence systems to protect civilians from missiles would only be used for that purpose.

Larysa Gerasko said, it that way, the Government could stay within the confines of only providing Ukraine with “non-lethal” military aid, as both missiles and armed drones are unmanned.