Irish Prime Minister arrives in Ukraine, visits Bucha.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar arrived in Ukraine for a state visit, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced[1] on July 19. "Welcome to Ukraine, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Today, we will hold important negotiations - security, political cooperation, justice for Ukraine, and our economic cooperation," Zelensky wrote on Telegram

"Although Ireland is a neutral country, this neutrality does not mean indifference, and this is very important. Thank you for all your support!" During his visit, Varadkar went[2] to Bucha, the site of a Russian massacre against Ukrainian civilians, together with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin.

The prosecutor informed the Irish prime minister that more than 1,400 civilians were killed in the city and noted the systematic nature of the crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine. "Today Bucha is a free and safe city. But we will never forget the terrible mass murders of civilians committed here by Russian troops," Kostin said.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar visits Bucha after arriving in Ukraine on July 19, 2023. (Source: Prosecutor General's Office/Telegram)

The Independent reported[3] that Varadkar and Zelensky held a joint press conference during which the Irish prime minister voiced his belief that Ukraine will win the war.

"Perhaps Russia believes that it can break the resolve of the Ukrainian people, but I know from the way you fought for the past few years, and from my visit here, that it cannot," he said. "My visits to the sites of these atrocities this morning, and my meeting here in Kyiv, have confirmed to me that Russia will not succeed, and Russia cannot be allowed to succeed." Dublin has provided Ukraine with non-lethal military and humanitarian assistance but has refused to provide lethal aid, citing [4] its neutrality.

Ukraine gets a fraction of what it wanted at NATO summit

Ukraine collected many promises at Vilnius, except the one it craved the most. In a joint communique, the 31 NATO member states said Ukraine's future is in the alliance, which it will one day join. They got rid of the need for a Membership Action Plan, effectively reducing the number

[5]

Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

^ announced (twitter.com)
^ went (t.me)
^ reported (www.independent.co.uk)
^ citing (www.euractiv.com)
^ Ukraine gets a fraction of what it wanted at NATO summitUkraine collected many promises at Vilnius, except the one it craved the most.

In a joint communique, the 31 NATO member states said Ukraine's future is in the alliance, which it will one day join.

They got rid of the need for a Membership Action Plan, effectively reducing the number (kyivindependent.com)