It's been three years of sleepless nights for Ukrainians
When I unlock my phone, I am met by a home screen filled with apps. Apps for communicating, apps for news, apps for social media, and so on. But when I travelled to Ukraine in April, a new app was added to this cluster. An app for air raid alerts.
A lot of our mornings begin with the sound of our wake-up alarms, but across Ukraine, a lot of nights are disturbed by the sounds of air raid alarms on their phones. We might not always adhere to them, but we set the time of our morning alarm.
But in Ukraine, Putin's barbarism dictates when the air raid alarms will go off and when Ukrainians are forced to suddenly wake up, for fear of their lives.
For years now, Ukrainian children, women and men have been denied a good night's sleep thanks to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified onslaught. I cannot pretend to understand the toll that it must have on any Ukrainian, or their family, but I remain awed by their determination to strive for a better future within the EU amid such toll.
President Michael D Higgins with deputy prime minister of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna at Áras An Uachtaráin in 2022. Picture: Maxwell's
During my visit to Kyiv in April, I met with the Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna. We met primarily to discuss the progression of Ukraine's path to EU membership. Only two nights before our meeting, the deputy prime minister had spent the night in an underground shelter with her children.
There was no guarantee Olha or her children would find their home intact when they came up from the shelter the next morning. But her children nevertheless returned to school and Olha returned to work.
Sandbags are stacked against the internal walls and against the windows of the government offices in Kyiv. At home, we use sandbags for flood defences, but in Ukraine, sandbags are used in defence against the Russian invaders.
Nevertheless, in those government offices, work on Ukraine's accession to the EU continues apace amid extraordinary challenges. I walked by offices filled with people getting on with their jobs, likely on little sleep given the air raids. Their resilience is inspiring, and we must never fail to recognise it.
I sometimes fear images of destruction, of flames emanating from built-up suburbs, of death itself, can become 'normal' viewing on our TV screens and phones.
But we must always remember the humanity of these situations and at its most basic human level, Ukraine has now gone without adequate sleep since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
So, what can we do? I had travelled to Ukraine in April along with my counterpart, the deputy foreign minister of Lithuania. Our visit began in Odesa where we opened an underground school shelter co-funded by Ireland, Lithuania and the European Commission.
Ireland has co-funded the construction of six such shelters across Ukraine. I am glad we are in a position to fund these shelters, because Ukraine's future is dependent on its young people realising their right to an education.
It is shameful, however, that such shelters are a necessity. Ukrainian children should not be receiving their education in underground bomb shelter classrooms without windows.
Ireland will continue to champion Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Against the backdrop of Putin's bombs and Putin's drones, along with other extraordinary challenges, Ukraine's government and parliament has persevered with EU-focused reforms.
In co-ordination with like-minded EU colleagues, I am examining proposals focused on ensuring Ukraine's negotiations for EU membership are not hindered by needless roadblocks. This is not only the right thing to do, but it is also in our fundamental interest to progress the enlargement of our shared union.
If Putin's imperialist ambitions are allowed to be realised in Ukraine, Ireland will not be immune from its consequences, and so we must work with our EU partners to ensure Ukraine's momentum towards EU membership is allowed to progress.
When night descends on Ukraine, let us endeavour to give hope to our fellow Europeans, for a brighter dawn within our European family of member states.
Thomas Byrne is minister of state for European Affairs and Defence and a Fianna Fáil TD for Meath East
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