Taoiseach hits out at Russia for ‘brutality of its actions’
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar told the UN General Assembly that Ukraine deserves the unqualified support of every member state and that Russia and its leaders deserve ‘utter condemnation’.
His speech came as it emerged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with a senior official from Sudan during a ‘technical stopover’ at Shannon Airport.
Mr Zelensky was returning to Europe from New York, where he had addressed the UN Security Council this week.
In his address, Mr Varadkar accused Russia of engaging in an imperialist and brutal invasion of its smaller,
‘Expansionist, revanchist power’
weaker neighbour. And he warned other states that ‘when one aggressor prevails, its peers elsewhere take note and become emboldened, threatening all’.
He described Russia as an ‘expansionist, revanchist power’ that had launched an unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine.
‘The brutality of Russia’s actions in Ukraine has caused unfathomable suffering for the people of that country,’ Mr Varadkar said.
‘And, as I stand on this most global of stages, I am deeply conscious of the wider suffering it has caused, increasing global food, energy and economic insecurity.
‘Russia’s inexplicable decision last month to collapse the Black Sea Grain Initiative has only made this bad situation worse,’ he added.
The Taoiseach also hit out at Russia’s ‘outrageous’ threats to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.
He said that Ireland has long worked for a nuclear weaponfree world, but today sees a world ‘in which their place in security doctrines is growing, rather than diminishing’.
Mr Varadkar’s strong support will have been warmly welcomed by the Ukrainian leader, who yesterday shared a photograph of himself meeting with the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Shannon Airport.
‘I am grateful for Sudan’s consistent support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ Mr Zelensky yesterday posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
‘We discussed common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia.
‘I invited him to support the Grain From Ukraine initiative and take part in this year’s summit.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Mr Zelensky’s passing visit had been a ‘technical stopover’, and no Irish Government ministers were involved in his meeting with the Sudanese official.
‘The department can confirm this was a technical stopover, with no bilateral element,’ a spokesperson said.