Tag Archives: Russia

RUSSIA has banned three of Clare’s Oireachtas members from entering the country. The names of Senator Timmy Dooley, Deputy Cathal Crowe are Deputy Joe Carey are on a list of 52 Irish citizens who have been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin’s regime. Since last Wednesday’s (November 16) announcement by the Russian Embassy, those who face sanctions have now been informed. Responding to his ban, Senator Dooley said he refuses to be intimidated or threatened. “Putin is a brutal dictator and his black list is clearly meant to frighten and intimidate those identified on it – a dog whistle to his supporters to visit harm on those of us who have been named – I have never given way to bullies and that won’t change,” he said. This evening I was informed I was part of Putin's blacklist. A digraceful action of intimidation by a desperate dictator This is nothing but a dog whistle to his supporters to visit harm on those of …

Ukrainian teenager pleads with her mother prior to fleeing bloody conflict A Ukrainian refugee, who is now living in Ennis, has revealed her eldest daughter asked to be killed because she didn’t want to die during the bloody war. Maryna Biriukova-Stefaniuk is one of five Ukrainian adults and five children who are now residing with her friend Mariya Nikishanova in Park Avenue, Ennis. The 35 year-old mother was forced to flee Kyiv with her two daughters, Anna-Mariya (9) and Solomiia (13) due to safety concerns. In a heart-wrenching interview with The Clare Champion, Maryna said she wanted to stay close to her husband but her eldest daughter, Solomiia started crying and pleaded with her “please kill me because I don’t want to die”. “She was hysterical, she couldn’t stop crying and was hiding under a coat. It was very very scary. There were lots of tears. We decided we would leave. We had 30 minutes to pack all of our …

A LOCAL Ennis group has been set up to help Ukrainian refugees driven out of their country following the invasion by Russia. The group, Ireland Poland Ukraine Refugee Relief (IPURR) are fundraising to support their Polish friend Marcin Piotrowski, who lived in Ennis but now lives in Poland, 10km from the Ukraine border. Last week the Clare Champion detailed how Marcin and his wife Marina’s have been helping those fleeing Ukraine by providing vital supplies to those on the border as well as a place of refuge in their home. The members of the new group are Anna Labuda Scanlon, Mayor of Ennis Ann Norton, Kieran O’Loughlin, Frank Gormley, Ray Scanlon and Pat Rutherford Councillor Norton tells us, “Marcin has an excellent reputation in Ireland as a humanitarian. He has done trojan work in Ireland in helping to integrate his community into Irish society. “He started, amongst other things, the Polish Ireland Festival, which took place not only in Ennis …

A BOYCOTT of Russian goods in response to the invasion of Ukraine has been called for by Ennis councillors, who have also urged the people of Clare to support local efforts to provide relief for the war-stricken country. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, urged that retailers who are stocking products made in Russia withdraw them from shelves as she described President Vladimir Putin as a “modern day Hitler”. She said that the people of Ireland are “repulsed” by recent events in Ukraine. She acknowledged, “This is not the Russian people, they are in the dark, this is being done by a megalomaniac who is detached from reality. He doesn’t care about Russian soldiers in Ukraine who thought they were going in on exercises. This is an appalling betrayal of his own people. But this shouldn’t deter us from boycotting Russia economically.” Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Ann Norton praised the people of …

THE Russian ambassador to Ireland Yuri Filatov should be sent home, Senator Timmy Dooley believes, having been part of a campaign of misinformation in the build-up to his country’s invasion of Ukraine.  “I’m very slow to say things like that, I’m not given to that kind of carry-on, calling for people to be expelled, but I just think it has reached a threshold beyond which general diplomacy isn’t relevant. He has told lies all the way through. What purpose does it serve any of us having an actor in place who is not telling the truth?  “We’ve often had countries like that, but the ambassador would shut his mouth, he’d stay back from the front line and would remain behind the scenes and act as a back channel to the jurisdiction. “Of course they’d represent their country, but if they couldn’t tell you the truth they’d say nothing. This fella’s actions and his utterances were absolutely part of the campaign …

A FAMILY who left Ennis in recent years have opened their hearts, and their home, close to the Polish / Ukraine border to those fleeing the Russian invasion. Marcin Piotrowski and his wife Marina Sestasvili-Piotrowska who lived in Ennis for more than a decade with their children have been playing a key role in providing support to Ukrainian people escaping the conflict. As well as giving Ukrainians refuge in their guest house Chutor Gorajec in Poland, just a few kilmotres from the border, they have also been co-ordinating the gathering and distribution of vital supplies including food, tents, medicines and blankets for those still waiting to cross the border. Marcin and other volunteers regularly cross the border into Ukraine to bring donations to those in need, while Marina looks after those who have come to their guest house seeking shelter. A warehouse has been set up to house the donations which have been flooding in from all parts of Poland …

WITH her grandmother in a war zone, every day is filled with worry for Vlada Gorbunova, who lives in Ennis, having arrived in Ireland as a six-year-old child in 1997. “You’re constantly worried that you could get that phone call or text message, to say something happened. It could be the worst, or it could be that she lost her home where she’s lived for 40 years or more, that she has nowhere to go and I can’t give her a hand because I can’t get that deep into Ukraine. “It’s constant worry and constant stress and every time my phone rings I’m thinking it’s her ringing to say that something has happened,” she says. Her grandmother is in Luhansk, in the east of the country, and fighting is happening all around her. “I know they were shooting this morning, because when I rang her you could hear the gunfire behind her. She had to hang up very quickly and …

WEST Clare councillors are to write to the ESB to condemn the sourcing of coal from Russia for the Moneypoint power plant. It comes against the backdrop of sanctions taken by western nations against Russia over its attack on Ukraine. This coincides with the revelation that Russian coal accounted for almost all of the fuel consumed in Moneypoint in 2021. Responding to Clare Champion queries, the ESB outlined prior to 2021, electricity generation from Moneypoint had reduced significantly, requiring only small quantities of coal in those years. However, in 2021, a combination of factors saw an increase in electricity generation from Moneypoint to meet demand on the Irish electricity system, resulting in more than one million tons of coal being burned over that year. The ESB has seen that trend continue into the early part of 2022. “ESB sources coal for Moneypoint on international markets. Russian coal accounted for almost all of the coal consumed in Moneypoint in 2021,” the …