LAST UPDATE | 13 Feb 2022

A TOTAL OF 50 Irish people in Ukraine have registered with the Irish embassy in Kyiv after the Department of Foreign Affairs urged all citizens currently in the country to leave immediately.

Yesterday Ireland joined a growing number of governments advising citizens to get out of Ukraine as soon as they can amid escalating tensions and a US assessment that an attack by Russia on its neighbour could be imminent.

The Department of Foreign Affairs today said there are approximately 50 Irish citizens registered with the Embassy of Ireland in Kyiv.

Irish citizens are advised not to travel to Ukraine due to the increased threat of military activity.

A spokesperson for the department urged Irish citizens in Ukraine who have not already registered their details, and those of any dependants, with the Embassy to do so on the DFA website.

People who register can then be directly contacted by the embassy in Kyiv, which remains operational, but its capacity to provide consular assistance may be limited due to the current circumstances. 

The department has also contacted all of those scheduled to travel to Ukraine for surrogacy purposes in recent days. It said it will continue to provide support to these individuals and families with “advice relevant to their particular situation.”

Justice minister Helen McEntee today reitereted the advice that people should leave Ukraine immediately.

“If you are in Ukraine, please follow Department of Foreign Affairs advice and leave immediately,” she tweeted.

“Please don’t travel to Ukraine, anyone who was due to travel for surrogacy reasons, please stay in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs. Irish citizens requiring emergency assistance should contact +353-1-4082000,” McEntee said.

‘War is not inevitable’

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the situation in the country was being monitored on an “hourly basis” amid fears of a Russian invasion.

Mr Harris told RTE’s This Week programme: “The Irish position, the European position, the position of so many countries right across the world is that war is not inevitable.

“It is never inevitable until it happens and diplomacy should continue to be pursued.

“But every government also has a duty of care towards its citizens and it would be utterly irresponsible for the Irish Government not to pass on that best advice and best thinking to our own citizens.”

He added: “Obviously Ireland is monitoring the situation on an hourly basis, including engaging with our European colleagues.

“If you see what is happening now across a number of European countries and indeed the United States, the advice seems to be quite consistent now about the importance of people leaving the Ukraine, or indeed if you were considering travelling to the Ukraine to not proceed in relation to that.

“We have a duty of care to Irish citizens to pass on the best advice and best thinking as we receive it.

Cancelled flights

Ukraine today vowed to keep its airspace open to international travel despite Western warnings that Russian troops conducting drills near its borders could invade at any point.

The Dutch carrier KLM yesterday became the first major airline to indefinitely suspend flights to the former Soviet republic because of the rising risks.

Ukraine’s budget airline SkyUp said today that its flight from Portugal to Kyiv was forced to land in Moldova because the plane’s Irish leasing company had revoked permission for it to cross into Ukraine.

SkyUP added that European leasing companies were demanding that Ukrainian airlines return their planes to EU airspace within 48 hours.

Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry responded by holding an emergency meeting aimed at maintaining foreign travel and keeping the country from becoming more isolated in the heat of the crisis.

“The airspace over Ukraine remains open and the state is working on preempting risks for airlines,” the ministry said after the meeting.

Industry analysts believe other international airlines may soon also ban flights into Ukraine because of the growing cost to travel insurers.

The Ukrainian government has been trying to preempt the flood of foreigners leaving the country by calling for calm and criticising US warnings of war breaking out “any day”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that “all this information is only provoking panic and not helping us”.

Zelensky’s office stressed today that “the sky over Ukraine remains open”.

Additional reporting from AFP