Taoiseach urges Ukrainians to ‘stay strong’ as sombre 1,000 days of war milestone falls

TODAY marks 1,000 days since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

The sombre milestone was marked in Ireland by Taoiseach Simon Harris, who pledged to stand with the nation for "as long as it takes".

“Today, Tuesday November 19, 2024, marks 1,000 days of Russia’s horrific war against our friends in Ukraine,” he said in a statement.

“The destruction and loss of life inflicted by Russia is devastating,” he added.

“It is the worst loss of life in Europe since World War II - a truly grim milestone.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 sparking the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

War has waged in the region for nearly three years, causing hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Today, the Taoiseach recalled the “beauty” of the embattled nation and its people.

“Ukraine is a beautiful country - its proud citizens live for family, friends, community, work, culture, laughter and their great nation,” Mr Harris said.

“Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion and bombardment of Ukraine is an affront to international law, an affront to humanity and an affront to all that is decent,” he added.

“The human toll is heart shattering.

“While the true numbers are impossible to calculate, it is estimated that more than 12,000 civilians have died, 25,000 have been maimed, four million have been displaced internally and 6 million have been displaced across Europe, including Ireland.”

The Taoiseach pledged to continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine for as long as it takes and urged its people of to stay strong in their ongoing battle against their invaders.

“We will protect them. Ireland will continue to strongly support Ukraine’s path towards EU membership,” Mr Harris said.

“Ireland will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

“The EU will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

“To do anything less would be to accept the victory of a tyrant over a modern European democracy.

“To our friends in Ukraine, stay strong. Slava Ukraini!”

Speaking today, Ukrainian leader President Zelensky urged Europe to "push Russia harder" in a bid to bring an end to the conflict.

"The more time he [Putin] has, the worse the conditions become," he said while attending a special session of the European Parliament today.