| The Irish Left With Ukraine group was established involving activists from different traditions of the left in Ireland, but united in support of Ukraine’s right to resist invasion. Protest at the Russian Embassy The Irish Left With Ukraine will join the existing daily protest at the embassy on Orwell Road, Dublin 6. This protest has been mounted on a daily basis since the outbreak of war in February 2022. Our ILWU group will bring out banner and good wishes to support the protest. Check out our socials for updates. You can come too! An Irishman in Ukraine by Garrett Mullan Ternopil is in the west of Ukraine, about 120 km from Lviv, which is 30km from the Polish border. It is a city of 220,000 in a region of just over 1 million. As it is in the west of Ukraine, there is a perception that it has not been affected by the war. There are even derisive comments about people going on holidays to Ukraine. Yes, we did go on holidays because people need to see their families. The war has affected every region. In the city, just over 800 have died as a result of being killed in action and that number rises to over 5,000 dead. Multiply that by at least three times and you have tens of thousands injured. On November 19th 2025, 38 died in the city in one of the single most deadly attacks by Russia in the war. They died sleeping in their apartments. In every large village, town and city of Ukraine, there are memorial boards in the centre to remember those who had been lost. In the village where we stay of Hrymalliv, 40km from Ternopil, there are 29 boards. My wife Iryna remembers four of the soldiers as local boys from the village. She was a teacher in the school for 10 years and taught two of the martyred soldiers. She remembers Anatoliy has lively and funny. Now all we can see is the memorial board.  For years, we travelled to Ukraine each year to visit my wife’s family. After the full scale invasion we halted our visits and did not expect to return until after the war. However as months and years of war went by, we decided in 2024 to visit Iryna’s family in Ternopil and we did so again this August. Now I am back in Dublin and she is still in Ukraine to attend a wedding, which I am told will be not be attended by military aged men. The electricity blackouts have not been as bad in the Summer of 2026 as 2024. This is because there has been a significant increase on the reliance of solar and also the importing of electricity from Europe. There is dread though as to what will happen in winter. Last Winter was the most challenging of the war and this year it is expected to be worse because the relentless attacks on the energy grid has had an impact. I met two English guys in Hrymalliv sitting outside a local bar. They were nice guys. Both had been in the British army for four years. They came to Ukraine at the same time in April 2022, just after a call for international volunteers. I asked one ‘how did your family and friends react when you decided to volunteer? That must have been difficult’. His reply was disheartening as he said ‘people would blow off steam and say don’t go, you will die, but then once I had gone, they dropped all contact. I got no texts, nothing’. Still they seemed in good spirits. The interaction with them and a few other of their comrades was brief but I could see togetherness. They have been through a lot. England is now not only a different country but a different world to them. At a local swimming pool war veterans were present. We knew they were war veterans because some were in wheelchairs and others had dressings covering wounds and others had missing parts. On the platform at Ternopil station as we waited to head to the Polish border, my sister in law indicated a family nearby ‘they are saying goodbye as he is going to the frontline’. The scene on this hot August Sunday was a father, his wife and two young boys. It was tearful farewell. How did we know that he was heading to the frontline? The train destination was Dnipro, which is on the frontline 815km to the east. This scene we have witnessed in many films and it was a scene reminiscent of World War 2, but this was no film and it was not World War 2. Also reminiscent of World War 2 and the films. I didn’t expect to hear an air raid siren in the countryiside, but it happens regularly. In response, people check Alerts.in.ua It is Ukrainian reality in 2026. Protest at City West The government has shifted to right wing populism, as the mood towards Ukrainians has hardened. Their cack handed measures to cut accommodation costs and show their toughness on immigration has caused disruption and distress for Ukrainians in state accommodation, particularly those who are vulnerable and those with disabilities. Jim O’ Callaghan TD as Minister for Justice has referenced appeals systems which are akin to the worst Soviet bureaucracy, in addressing the needs and concerns of Ukrainian refugees in state accommodation. Many people comment in justifiying harsh government policy ‘sure it was only meant to be temporary’. It is true that measures applied in support of Ukrainians in Ireland in 2022 were under the programme of International Temporary Protection. However, the war is still ongoing and more of the country has been destroyed and more will be destroyed. There is nowhere for people to return. We appreciate the efforts of Liam Quaid TD and Ivana Bacik TD of Social Democrats and Labour who have been actively engaging with Ukrainians impacted in Trabolgan and City West. However, we call on the Department of stice to open dialogue with residents and enter a process of meaningful dialogue. Ukraine solidarity discussed at ICTU Global Solidarity Seminar More than 100 representatives and officials from different unions participated in the summer seminar of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Committee. Gregor Kerr spoke on behalf of ILWU on why trade unions should show solidarity with Ukraine. Chris Ford from the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign UK, spoke of their experience in harnessing the support and solidarity from the trade union movement in the UK with partners in Ukraine. Speaking through a zoom link, Kateryna Maliuta Osaulova from the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers told the meeting of the impact on the ground for workers in Ukraine and how they as a trade union are responding to the impact of war on the ground.  A full report of this meeting will follow in the next newsletter. Solidarity Convoy to UkraineThe Irish Left With Ukraine has signed up to support the International Solidarity Convoy due to depart from different parts of Europe and arrive in Ukraine in November. It is an initiative of the European Network of Solidarity with Ukraine. The Solidarity Convoy to Ukraine is an initiative that brings together trade unions, civil society organisations, grassroots organisation to deliver aid requested by Ukrainian partners to strengthen solidarity with Ukraine. Join us and build solidarity with Ukraine. Check out the link here- https://solidarityconvoyukraine.com/ Email us at irishleftwithukraine@gmail.com Follow us on x, facebook and instagram: irishleftwithukraine.blog |
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