Ukraine is beyond harrowing
An MEP for Ireland South has described the scenes in Ukraine as 'beyond harrowing'.
Last weekend Cork MEP Billy Kelleher crossed the border from Poland into Lviv with Senator Timmy Dooley, Vice President of the EU political grouping ALDE which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party has affiliations with.
They are the first Irish politicians to travel to the country since the Russian invasion began almost two weeks ago. Although it was not in the original plan for the pair to travel to Lviv, they were assured they would get to the city safely and be able to meet with the governor, mayor and other political groupings as well as getting to see the devastation first hand.
Mr Kelleher shared his experience with ‘The 96fm Opinion Line with PJ Coogan’: “Those leaving are resilient and quite disciplined but you can see the fear and concern in their faces”.
The pair witnessed a 20 kilometre tailback of people trying to flee the country in their cars. There was a 5km queue of people standing on the side of the road at the border which Mr Kelleher believes is something the European Union needs to look at.
“We should process them on the other side of the border so they can feel safer. Their fear is that something will come down the road behind them e.g. a Russian tank or a military aircraft bombing or attacking them, at least if they were across the border we could feed them, clothe them, shelter them and help them move on to other areas.”
Europe is facing a humanitarian crisis that has not been witnessed in many years. Even if the war ends soon, many Ukrainian refugees won’t have a home to return to as as they have been destroyed in the conflict.
“If Putin stays and holds the ground he has in Ukraine, many people won’t want to go back into a new Russia, they would be terrified,” said the Fianna Fáil MEP.
The Irish Red Cross said the humanitarian response for Ukrainian refugees in Ireland has been “astonishing”. As of Wednesday morning over 9,000 people have offered housing while there have been over €13 million in cash donations.
The Irish Red Cross opened its online pledges register on Monday, as Ireland's expected to accommodate 100,000 refugees.
The European Union is set to announce further sanctions against Russia later this week while the Irish Government said the current measures will have an impact on our economy.
One of the most significant areas where Irish consumers have already been taking a hit is the cost of fuel, with many petrol stations rising to over €2 per litre.
However the Government says the sanctions are an important display of solidarity with the people of Ukraine - describing Russia's actions as “illegal and immoral”.