As Ireland takes over Council of EU presidency, PM arrives in Kyiv to discuss support for Ukraine

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrived in Kyiv on 23 July, where he will hold meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk.

Source: European Pravda, citing Irish Examiner

Details: During his visit, Martin will go to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and meet with its speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk to discuss Ukraine's EU accession negotiations and plans for domestic reforms.

He will also meet with Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, who assumed office last week.

Martin is expected to visit civilian areas of Kyiv damaged by recent Russian attacks and meet with representatives of international organisations and charities that, with Irish funding, provide assistance to those affected.

In addition, he will meet members of the Irish community in Kyiv.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Martin said he is making the trip at the beginning of Ireland's Council of the EU presidency "to underline the EU's and Ireland's continuing solidarity with the Ukrainian Government and the people of Ukraine."

"Having endured more than four years of brutal aggression against its people and territory, Ukraine continues to demonstrate tremendous resilience and courage in the face of relentless Russian attacks, which have intensified on Kyiv and other parts of the country in recent weeks," Martin said.

He emphasised that support for Ukraine is a priority of Ireland's EU presidency.

"This visit is an opportunity to hear directly from President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Koretskyi about the situation on the ground and the needs of the Ukrainian Government as it faces into a fifth year of defending its country against Russian aggression," he added.

Background:

• Martin's visit comes three weeks after Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Dublin to mark the start of Ireland's EU presidency.
• At that time, Martin said his country was nearing completion of an investigation into reports of alumina exports to Russia – a raw material used in aluminium production.
• He also stated that Ukrainians deserve EU membership and expressed hope that Ukraine will overcome difficulties with its neighbours on this path.

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