A young Ukrainian woman brought to Ireland by her mother after the Russian invasion must return to her country, the Supreme Court has ruled, reports RTE.
In her ruling, Judge Mary Rose Geary said the girl had been unlawfully removed from her home country and without her father’s consent.
The young girl has been called by Daryna by the court because she is under ten years old and cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The girl’s mother separated from Darina’s father a few years ago.
Evidence was presented to the court that the girl had expressed a desire to return to her father, with whom she had originally lived before the attack, reports RTE.
In her decision, the judge stated that the case concerned Ukraine’s involvement in the war.
The judge said that although the girl faced “a risk of serious harm” due to the ongoing conflict with the Russian Federation, the evidence before the court did not indicate that there was “a grave risk of harm” if she is returned to her home city in Ukraine.
The judge said the evidence showed that Darina’s mental health was at risk after she was taken from her home.
The judge added that the girl would have been better served if she had returned home immediately.
Evidence was presented to the court, including interviews between the child and the evaluator, that the girl was deeply affected by the separation from her father and half-siblings.
After a year in Ireland, the girl does not speak English and despite the conflict, she wants to return to the country, added the judge.
Daryna told the assessor that she had no friends in Ireland but spoke to her friends in Ukraine via an internet video link.
The evaluator said Daryna has a deep bond with both her parents and has a limited understanding of war.
After the war broke out in February 2022, his mother claimed that she had the right to take the child out of Ukraine on the basis of a resolution issued by the Ukrainian government allowing the child to be taken out of the country.
The judge, who considered the opinions of experts in Ukrainian law before issuing the ruling, said that any other request would have allowed mass abductions of Ukrainian children under the guise of crossing the border urgently.
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