UKRAINE’S President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Shannon earlier today, where he met Taoiseach Simon Harris.
Mr Zelensky was on his way back to Kyiv from Washington, where he had attended the recent NATO summit.
Asked for a message for the people of Ireland, Mr Zelensky said, “First of all, thank you so much for your support, thanks to Ireland for hosting a lot of Ukrainian refugees, you were with us from the very beginning of the Russian invasion.”
He played down the incident in the US where he was mistakenly referred to as President Putin, by President Joe Biden. “It’s a mistake. I think United States gave a lot of support for Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so.”
The Taoiseach said the two had “a very good meeting”.
He said it had given him “an opportunity to express in person the condolences of the people of Ireland to the people and President of Ukraine for the horrible loss of civilian life throughout this brutal and evil war of Russian aggression.”
He condemned the recent Russian bombing of a children’s hospital, while he said he had taken up an invitation to visit Kyiv later in the summer, and had invited President Zelensky to make a formal visit to this country also.
The Taoiseach also says the fact Ukraine needs a programme of bomb shelter building for schools before they reopen in September shows how horrific the Russian attack is.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.