Gardaí are looking into reports of drones flying over Ireland during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Zelensky delivered a historic address to a joint sitting of the Oireachtas earlier this week and held meetings with Government officials and President Catherine Connolly, reports Breaking News.
Mr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, landed in Dublin late on Monday night, with RTÉ noting that several unidentified drones were spotted near Howth over the Irish Sea around the time their aircraft reached Dublin Airport.
Gardaí said in a statement that a specialist detective unit had begun an inquiry into the matter, reports Breaking News.
“As part of this, SDU will be liaising with the Defence Forces and international security partners,” the statement noted, reports Breaking News.
The Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yuriy Filatov, said on Friday that it was “hard to make sense of the visit,” other than seeing it as “the ever-present desire of the Irish government to show loyalty to the EU anti-Russian policy line on Ukraine.”
In a statement, Mr Filatov accused Irish political leaders of living in an “illusionary world that has nothing to do with the realities” of the conflict in Ukraine.
He criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin for using the phrase “Slava Ukraini” – or “Glory to Ukraine” – comparing the greeting to “Heil Hitler.”
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Asked about the remarks at the British-Irish Council summit in Cardiff, Mr Martin said Mr Filatov had a “track record” of repeatedly criticising him and the Government, reports Breaking News.
He said: “We’re very, very clear: The invasion of Ukraine by Russia was a fundamental, brutal violation of the United Nations Charter, and no power can behave in such a manner”
“The destruction of Ukraine, killing of so many people, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and energy infrastructure on the scale that has happened is reprehensible,” reports Breaking News.
“I would say to the Russian ambassador to please bring back the message to the Russian government to please engage and stop this war,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ireland is among the few European nations that “understands the price of freedom,” praising the country for its support.
In the first-ever visit to Ireland by a Ukrainian president, Mr Zelensky and Mr Martin each highlighted the similarities between Ukraine’s struggle for sovereignty and Ireland’s long fight for independence, reports Breaking News.
Mr Zelensky said that Ireland’s decision to support Ukraine in the early stages of the war was a moral one, adding that while some had grown weary of hearing about the conflict, Ireland’s voice had not become “quieter.”
He said that although Ireland is militarily neutral, it is “certainly not an indifferent country,” and he expressed gratitude to “every Irish home” that has welcomed some of the 120,000 Ukrainians who have arrived since 2022, reports Breaking News.
In his historic address to parliamentarians, where he received a standing ovation in the Dáil chamber, he urged Ireland to take “an active role” in supporting a tribunal addressing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, reports Breaking News.
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