Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Matt Carthy TD, has said that two years on from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ireland continues to be committed “in our support of the people of Ukraine, adherence to international law, and to peace across Europe and the globe”.
Teachta Carthy said:
“Two years ago, Vladimir Putin’s Russia launched a brutal and criminal war on its peaceful neighbour, Ukraine.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the largest land conflict and the greatest displacement of people in Europe for nearly 80 years.
“On behalf of Sinn Féin, I reiterate that Russia’s attack on and bombardment of the Ukrainian people is an attack on sovereignty, on peace and on the right of a nation to be free. It is a vicious and violent expression of the dead-end belief that might is right and that military power can dominate humanity.
“The result is the killing of over 10,000 people, including more than 560 children. 19,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russia or its proxies. Millions of Ukrainian people have been forced to leave their homeland.
“For Irish people we are clear whose side we are on.
“For 24 months, the courageous people of Ukraine have stood against the Russian onslaught; the people of Ireland stand with them.
“We are clear that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a blatant breach of international law. It is a full-scale aggression which has been defined by war crimes committed by the Russian military against innocent people.
“Sinn Féin supports the utilisation of all diplomatic, economic and financial sanctions against Russia in response to these breaches of international law.
“I welcome the constructive approach of the Irish government at a European level in their continued support for Ukraine. That approach is one for which they have Sinn Féin’s total support.
“Our unified message to Vladimir Putin must remain clear: Russia must immediately withdraw from Ukraine. Putin must end his war and end the bloodshed.
“As a neutral country that is consistent in our demand for adherence to international law, whether it is Russia or Israel or anyone else that is in breach, our message today is that Ireland will stand with Ukraine through all the horror, and that we hope and pray that the people of Ukraine win out.
“The actions of Russia should remind the world of a lesson that Ireland has long learned.
“That is that the damaging and divisive legacy wrought by colonisation, occupation and the denial of self-determination. We in Ireland know that imperialist ventures and colonial aggression have no place in a peaceful world, a world of rights, justice and equality.
“The responsibility for ending the war in Ukraine lives squarely with Vladimir Putin. Two years on we repeat that a withdrawal of the Russian military must happen and we must all come together to build a pathway and a plan for peace.
“As we mark two years since Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine commenced, I hope that we won’t have to do so again next year.
“But, make no mistake, if we must then we will remain as committed in our support of the people of Ukraine, to our adherence to international law, and to peace across Europe and the world as we did in the hours, days and weeks immediately after that illegal invasion”.
