Irish Prime Minister Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine

It has just emerged that Ireland’s Taoiseach travelled to Ukraine to Meet with President Zelensky today.

On Wednesday, July 19, it has been revealed that Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of solidarity, writes RTE.

Ireland’s first minister travelled through the night in order to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart this morning. Just hours before Mr Varadkar’s arrival in Kyiv, the capital had come under attack from a series of Russian drone strikes.

Before Meeting with President Zelensky, the Taoiseach made a series of visits under the watchful eye of the Ukrainian army and the elite Garda Emergency Response Unit.

Mr Varadkar met with locals in the area of Bucha a district to the north of Kyiv, and a place now associated with a series of Russian atrocities. The region suffered greatly in the earliest days of the war where over 500 people were killed before Russian forces were driven out.

The Taoiseach also paid his respects to Ukrainian soldiers who had successfully defended Russian aggression in Moschun, a suburban forest, that lay between the invaders and Kyiv.

He also paid a visit close to Irpin, a site where Pierre Zakrzewski, an Irish journalist was killed, along with Oleksandra Kuvshynova, his translator. The residential district of Horenka was next, an area that was severely bombarded by Russia in an aerial attack.

The fifth and final visit before his meeting with President Zelensky was the Romanivsky Bridge. It was here that Ukrainian civilians, in a mass evacuation from Irpin, were strafed by Russian forces. The Ukrainian Army destroyed the bridge to halt the invaders, but work is now underway to rebuild it.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Varadkar a spokesperson said the Fine Gael leader is due to meet with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhall and the Speaker of the or parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk to ‘discuss the current situation, and how Ireland can continue to help Ukraine practically and politically.’

The Taoiseach went on to say on Twitter: ‘This morning I came face to face with the horror inflicted by Russia’s forces on the people of Ukraine. I gave a commitment to President Zelenskyy, and to the people of Ukraine, that we will continue to offer our practical as well as our political backing.

‘We are giving a further €5 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, €3 million to be spent in Ukraine by the Red Cross for its vital work, and €2 million to the UN fund,’ he concluded.