The Taoiseach will confirm to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday that Ireland has joined an international coalition pressing for the return of 20,000 children forcibly relocated from his country to Russia and Belarus since March 2022.
Simon Harris will meet Mr Zelenskiy at Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon for their first bilateral meeting on Irish soil, which will focus on Russia’s ongoing war of aggression and invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskiy is making a stopover at Shannon after attending a conference marking the 75th anniversary of Nato in Washington this week. US president Joe Biden introduced him as “President Putin” before quickly correcting himself during the event on Thursday.
Mr Harris is expected to express his condolences to Mr Zelenskiy over a deadly attack on one of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital earlier this week. Ukraine’s ongoing drive for EU membership will also be discussed, with Ireland among a large number of member states supporting accession.
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The Government confirmed it has joined the international coalition campaigning for the return to Ukraine of an estimated 20,000 children who were forcibly moved to Belarus and Russia and were made to enter what have been described as re-education programmes.
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Mr Harris and Mr Zelenskyy previously held a short meeting on the fringes of the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland last month. Since 2020, Ireland has provided €250 million in non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility. More than 108,000 Ukrainian refugees have also come to live in the State since the outbreak of the war.
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