The Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland is working to organize a speech to Dáil and Seanad by Volodymyr Zelensky

The Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland is working to organize a speech to Dáil and Seanad by Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.

mbassador Larysa Gerasko told politicians at Leinster House today: “So really, I’m working on this.”

She said she had suggested to the Kyiv government that Mr Zelensky could cooperate with such a request, raised in Dáil last week by independent TDs Seán Canney and Cathal Berry.

Senator Vincent P Martin of the Green Republican Party made the proposal again today at the Oireachtas Commission on European Union Affairs.

“Unfortunately, here you understand quite well what the situation is and he is very busy,” the Ukrainian envoy said.

“But actually I have sent such a request and I hope that he will find time for such an address.

“Thanks for your suggestion.”

All members of the committee wore stickers representing the Ukrainian flag as they listened to the ambassador.

“There is no neutral faction here,” Mr. Martin said.

He said he was proud to see MPs rise in London to applaud President Zelensky when he addressed the House of Commons last week.

Ms. Gerasko demanded an end to all trade with Russia when Vladimir Putin invaded her homeland.

She said she had “a list of requests or demands”, emphasizing the no-fly zone, while claiming that Ukraine had killed 13,000 Russian soldiers during the conflict.

Western countries must put more pressure on Russia to bring it to the negotiating table, she said.

“It is time to act. We urge Ireland and our EU partners to take a number of other actions that must be taken immediately.

“First, we need a no-fly zone over Ukraine to prevent Russian shelling of civilians and ensure the safety of critical infrastructure such as nuclear power plants,” she said.

“We want a trade embargo on coal from Russia and prevent Russia from using crypto to circumvent sanctions.”

She called on Ireland to close all ports to Russian ships, following the example of Britain, Canada and Cyprus.

There should also be a ban on ships flying the flags of EU member states from trading in Russian ports.

“Ireland has closed its airspace to Russian planes, but not its ports,” Gerasko said. “We raised this issue two weeks ago and we haven’t had any response from the EU.”

They have also asked to cut Russian diplomats, she said, adding that some countries have done so without a joint EU decision.

Politicians should encourage private businesses to divest from Russian assets and cut off all commercial ties with Russia.

Ms. Gerasko also called for a ban on new visas and residence permits for Russian officials and their families.

“The less dollars the Russian business makes and the less taxes the Russian state receives, the less chance the Russian military has to kill our people,” she said.

“The future of the global security architecture is now being decided in Ukraine. We keep fighting, and we will win.”

Six thousand Ukrainians have already arrived in Ireland, she said, but the situation is deteriorating “and we can expect more”.

Two thousand children are under 18 and the rest are women, she said. There will be many problems ahead.

Meanwhile, Russia has brought Europe to the brink of nuclear disaster by bombarding the largest nuclear plant in Europe, with six Chernobyls.

The Zaporizhzhia plant has been seized by Russia and the occupiers have claimed that it is now under Rusatom control, “which adds to concerns about nuclear security,” she said.

Russia’s main direction of aggression remains Kyiv, with the main goal of changing Mr. Zelensky’s government.

“I would like to emphasize that the territory of Belarus is actively being used by Russia for military purposes, such as missiles launched from its territory,” she said.

“Its airports and rail network are used to transport cargo and ammunition, and Belarus also provides food and fuel for Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.”

She claimed the Russian plane entered Ukrainian airspace on March 11 and hit a village in Belarussia in a false flag operation “to create a pretext for Belarus to get directly involved in the war with Russia”.

Russia has fired hundreds of cruise and tactical missiles at residential areas along with tank attacks, artillery and full-scale air strikes on critical civilian infrastructure.

It has used chemical weapons, she said, with the deployment of phosphorus munitions on seven most recent occasions in recent days.

She noted that prosecutors are opening war crimes investigation cases.

“The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was also occupied by the Russian military. They damaged its power lines twice, which could lead to a radioactive leak,” said Ms. Gerasko.

“The situation is still extremely dangerous. The IAEA has lost connection with the monitoring systems both in Chernobyl and in Zaporizhzhia”.

At the same time, Russia’s nuclear deterrent remains on high alert and threats from nuclear war continue.

“The Russian aggressors have moved to a new stage of terrorism, in which they are trying to eliminate representatives of the legitimate local government of Ukraine,” she said.

The Ambassador said: “The kidnapping of the mayor of Melitopol is a crime not only against a particular individual, but also against humanity and democracy.

President Zelensky has called on the international community and members of Oireachtas to demand that Russia immediately release the mayor and ensure adequate security for communities across the country, she said.

“The whole world witnessed that the people of Ukraine did not surrender to the invaders. The Russian armed forces are facing huge losses in combat capabilities.

“Ukraine did not surrender for three days, as the Kremlin expected,” she said.

“The number of Russian servicemen killed on Ukrainian territory exceeds 13,000 – and the number of wounded invaders is many times greater.”

Russia used mass graves for Russian servicemen killed as the Kremlin tried to “hide the number from mass anti-war protests. Even so, the truth cannot be hidden.”

As of March 14, more than 400 educational institutions, 111 hospitals and more than 1,500 residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed, she said.

More than 2.7 million people have left Ukraine via the western border, “including more than 6,000 who have gone to Ireland”, with 1.85 million more internally displaced.

About 86 Ukrainians support EU membership, including 72 in the Russian-speaking eastern region, she said, welcoming a meeting of EU leaders in Versailles last week that approved the idea. join the EU, even if they disagree on a timetable.

She also welcomed Ireland’s decision to provide 200 sets of armor and “military food” to Ukraine, but that was not enough.

Ukrainian soldiers and territorial defense units, the latter of which consisted of civilians, needed medicine and ambulances, two of which were received from Ireland and nine more were on their way, she said.

The injured need “medicine, medicine, medicine,” she said.

“We don’t have time to wait. Every day, every hour means dozens of lives,” she said. “It is time to act.

“Not the time to talk – sorry for saying that.”