On his way back from the NATO Summit in Washington, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stopped in Ireland to meet with Prime Minister Simon Harris on 13 July. This was reported by the Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
Zelenskyy arrived at Shannon Airport, Co Clare. During the meeting with Simon Harris, he thanked the people of Ireland for their support, in particular for the fact that the country had accepted Ukrainian refugees and "stood with us" since the beginning of the invasion. In return, the Irish president said he would visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the "coming weeks".
He also invited the Ukrainian president to pay an official visit to Ireland and added that the Ukrainian president was "very much looking forward" to addressing the parliament.
The politicians discussed a potential bilateral agreement on demining, energy, humanitarian aid and food security.
It is noted that Harris will reaffirm Ireland's support for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and offer assistance to thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly repatriated to Russia and Belarus after the invasion.
He will also reaffirm Ireland's membership in the international coalition for the return of children, which is calling for the return of around 20,000 minors.
- Ireland has provided €250 million in nonlethal military assistance to Ukraine under the European Peace Fund.
- The country has also accepted more than 108,000 Ukrainians under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.
- Members of the Irish Defence Forces trained 455 Ukrainian servicemen in demining, battlefield casualty care and the use of non-lethal demining equipment.