Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the decision by Russia to impose sanctions on 52 Irish politicians was no more than propaganda and would have no meaningful effect.
The Ukrainian president addressed students from Dublin City University at the Helix via video link from Kyiv on Friday. The address was webcast to other Irish third-level institutions.
Early in his address, Mr Zelenskiy praised Ireland’s support of EU efforts to stop Russian aggression. Addressing the sanctions. he said: “The restrictions imposed by Russia don’t really affect anything, it’s more a propaganda thing. It allows them pretend that Russia is capable of actions that it is not.”
He also praised Ireland’s policy to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. “There are 63,000 Ukrainian citizens in Ireland, students, children and others ... I am grateful to you
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“Our citizens of Ukraine will also be able to hear of your respect for us. Your Government and your society has helped Ukraine in many ways,” he said.
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In his address, spoken through an interpreter, the Ukrainian president said it was ironic that Russia, at a summit in Indonesia, had also signed up to 52 pledges of an International charter to inspire international solidarity and encourage peace and co-operation between countries.
He said that paragraph 5 of the charter pledged Russia to work with others to promote energy and market stability.
He said that as the summit was happening, Russia was launching a missile attack, firing 100 rockets at Ukraine’s energy sector. “The next day it targeted gas production and power plants. This is Russia’s way of promoting energy stability,” he said.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, Gerasko Larysa, said 30 per cent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure had been affected by Russian attacks.
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Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris, who also spoke at the event, said that more than 300 displaced Ukrainian students have been placed in higher education for the 2022/23 academic year.
“We have enrolled almost 15,000 in further education courses. We also facilitated over 350 Ukrainian students to sit their equivalent of the Leaving Certificate here in Ireland, ensuring they can continue to plan for their future,” he said.
In a question and answer section with DCU students, Mr Zelenskiy said that he was not unduly affected by the psychological pressure of the war. “My team knows there are different days and different moments. Our country and our people have survived many challenges. Some are 10 years old, some 100 years old. We are fighting for independence.”
Asked was social media the new frontier of war, Mr Zelenskiy agreed — saying that Russia had been using it to full effect. However, he said Ukraine was now doing very well on social media. “People can hear us and the information that we have is becoming a weapon and a powerful weapon,” he said.
Mr Zelenskiy was introduced by Prof Donncha Ó Beacháin of DCU, an expert on the region. He said: “The Kremlin kills for empire, Ukrainians are fighting for their families, their communities and their futures.”
He said the war was a clash between two ways of organising society: democracy and dictatorship.
