‘My family have been bombed’: Emotional Ukrainians protest in Dublin

Protesters against the Russian war in Ukraine have called for a no fly zone to be enforced by countries not affiliated to Nato.

A crowd of about 2,000 people took part in a frequently emotional rally outside the GPO at which several Ukrainian speakers spoke of the damage being done to their country.

Ukrainian and Irish flags were displayed together. Many Ukrainians present painted their hands in the national colours of blue and yellow and sang the Ukrainian anthem with feeling.

A tearful Tanya White, a native of Kyiv who has been living in Ireland for 20 years, said she has been crying for the last nine days.

Government moves to clarify that Ireland has no quarrel with the people of Russia

---

Irish neutrality means whatever the government of the day wants it to mean

---

Arthur Cox halts work for Russian clients after Ukraine invasion

---

Brigid Laffan: Europe voices collective will and flexes muscle

---

“My relatives, my classmates, my family have all been bombed by rockets continually,” she said.

“The main point is to close the skies over Ukraine and Ukraine will do the rest. Ukraine is winning. Putin is a senile man sitting in a bunker. What are you afraid of? Please close the skies. Just do it.”

Irishman Francis O'Donnell, who was the resident coordinator for the UN in Ukraine between 2004 and 2009, suggested countries with military capacity who are not aligned to Nato including Australia, New Zealand Japan, South Korea and Israel could enforce a no fly zone over the west of Ukraine.

Mr O’Donnell acknowledged Nato could not enforce a no fly zone across western Ukraine because it could lead to the third world war, but other countries could do it.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned any country enforcing a no fly zone that it will be deemed to be combatants.

“There is no reason why the UN cannot advocate for a no fly zone and indeed mandate it with a humanitarian justification,” Mr O’Donnell suggested.

“If we yield to the threat of Russia’s attempted dominance of Ukraine, we are already acquiescing to the dreams of the mad man in the Kremlin.

"We have to make it clear, as it was in the UN general assembly on Thursday, that there is no justification in international law for this act of arbitrary aggression by Russia. "

Event organiser Mykola Kozlov thanked all those present for their support. “There are now hundreds of millions of you. You are Ukrainian if you feel Ukrainian regardless of which passport that you hold. Today we are all Ukrainians,” he said.

“We stand next to the GPO which is a symbol of Irish resistence and freedom. Hundreds of years later we are making history together here again.”

Lithuanian ambassador to Ireland Marijus Gudynas told the crowd his heart was bleeding for the people of Ukraine.

"The people of Ukraine are the real heroes of Europe today. They are defending freedom and trying to stop Putin starting the third world war."

He told the crowd that a banner on the municipal building in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius stating that "Putin - the Hague waits for you" shows what will happen to the Russian dictator when the war ends.

“I really believe that it will not be only for Putin, but for all those who are committing crimes,” he said.

He said the Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko will also face a reckoning after the war. "By condemning Russia, don't forget to condemn the bloody regime of Lukashenko."

The Polish ambassador to Ireland Anna Sochanska said the war had shown the "love, compassion and solidarity" currently being displayed by the Polish people towards their neighbours in Ukraine.

“We opened our borders to the refugees and I would like to underline that they are our Ukraine brothers. Do not believe this Russian propaganda which seeks to divide us,” she said.

"We are open to all the people from Africa and Asia, anybody who needs help can come to Poland and be warmly welcomed. Putin cannot win this war. We are all Ukrainians."

Afterwards the crowd unfurled a large Ukrainian flag and marched under it to the gates of Leinster House.