Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney visited Kyiv on April 14 to discuss his country’s support for Ukraine.
Coveney visited areas in the Ukrainian capital directly affected by the Russian invasion and met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.
He is the first foreign minister on the UN Security Council to visit Kyiv since Russia launched its war on Ukraine.
Kuleba expressed gratitude for the visit "as well as Ireland’s humanitarian, financial, and military aid."
Kuleba said on Twitter that he and Coveney spoke about coordinated steps with respect to an embargo on Russian oil and Ukraine’s "speedy accession to the EU."
A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) before Coveney's visit said his discussions would focus on "how Ireland can continue to provide political, security and humanitarian support to Ukraine, assist Ukraine in its application for EU candidate status, take forward further EU sanctions on Russia and hold Russia to account for its brutal and unjustified invasion."
Ireland has provided 20 million euros ($21.6 million) in humanitarian aid to the country and Ukrainian refugees in neighboring counties, and 33 million euros ($35.7 million) in nonlethal assistance for the Ukrainian military through the European Peace Facility.
The DFA statement added: "Ireland has been at the forefront of putting in place a robust EU sanctions regime and of supporting international mechanisms to hold Russia to account for grave violations of international humanitarian law, including referring the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court.
Irish Foreign Minister Travels to Kyiv To Discuss Support For Ukraine
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney (file photo)