Ireland Becomes 26th Country to Sign Security Agreement with Ukraine
On 4 September, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Ireland Simon Harris signed an agreement on support and cooperation between the two countries: the ally will continue to provide non-lethal military support.
This was reported by the Office of the Ukrainian President.
The signing took place in Kyiv, where Harris is on an official visit.
This year, Ireland has pledged to provide Ukraine with €128 million in non-lethal military support and at least €40 million in humanitarian aid.
In addition, Ukraine will receive demining systems and explosive ordnance disposal equipment, and Ireland will continue to participate in the demining coalition.
Ireland will provide ongoing training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces through the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) in Ukraine.
The country will also explore other potential ways to support the capabilities of the Defence Contact Group through coalitions, such as an IT coalition.
Some blocks of the agreement outline humanitarian assistance, as well as support for reconstruction and reforms, in particular on Ukraine's path to EU membership.
Ireland also pledged to help bring Russia to justice and compensate for the damage caused by the aggression, as well as to further strengthen sanctions pressure on Russia.
In particular, Dublin pledged to continue its diplomatic efforts to implement the ‘peace formula’ and to participate in a number of working groups and in the implementation of specific elements.
Since the beginning of the Great War, Ireland has provided humanitarian, stabilisation and non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine worth around €380 million. Ukraine has already concluded 26 bilateral security agreements to implement the G7 Joint Declaration adopted in Vilnius on 12 July 2023.
Ukraine signed the first such agreement with the United Kingdom on 12 January 2024. On 16 February, President Zelenskyy signed two more agreements on security guarantees for Ukraine with Germany and France.
On 23 February, Ukraine and Denmark signed an agreement on security cooperation and long-term support between the two countries.
On 24 February 2024, Ukraine signed bilateral security agreements with Italy and Canada.
On 1 March, Ukraine and the Netherlands signed a bilateral security agreement in Kharkiv. On 3 April, an agreement was signed with Finland.
On 11 April, Ukraine and Latvia signed a security agreement.
On 27 May, a similar document was signed with Spain, and on 28 May - with Belgium. Portugal became the 12th country with which Ukraine signed a bilateral security agreement.
On 31 May, Ukraine signed security agreements with three countries - Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
On 13 June, on the sidelines of the G7 summit, President Zelenskyy and President Biden sign a bilateral security agreement. On the same day, Ukraine signed a security agreement with Japan.
On 27 June, Ukraine and the European Union signed a security agreement on the sidelines of the EU Leaders Summit. Security agreements were also signed with Lithuania and Estonia.
On 8 July, Ukraine and Poland signed a bilateral security agreement. For the first time among the agreements already signed, it provides for the possibility of intercepting missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace fired in the direction of Poland and the creation of the Ukrainian Legion. On 10 July, the agreement was signed with Luxembourg. On 11 July, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., with Romania.
On 18 July, Zelenskyy visited the UK, where he spoke at the European Political Community summit and signed two more agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia.