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IT is three years since the brutal escalation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and Ukrainian civilians have been killed and cities across the country’s flattened, with millions forced to flee their homes.
European leaders have been left reeling by being cut out of peace talks that US President Donald Trump has started with Russia.
The new American administration has shifted position and started unilateral talks with Moscow — without Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky as it demands a quick end to the war.
That’s left European leaders fuming given they have collectively backed Ukraine more than the US against the Russian invasion.
Here, Irish politicians and campaigners describe the impact the devastating conflict has had on the world over the past three years.
Irish Red Cross secretary general Deirdre Garvey says the devastating impact of war extends far beyond physical destruction.
She says targeted mental health supports, like those provided by the Irish Red Cross, have become crucial to address the widespread emotional toll and trauma needs of Ukrainian people.
She said: “The conflict in Ukraine has dramatically changed the lives of millions and has had a devastating impact on individual lives that we can never measure.
“Ireland has recognised this suffering and continues to respond generously. The Irish Red Cross has worked with the wider Red Cross Movement to provide humanitarian assistance in Ukraine and in the surrounding countries that have hosted most of those fleeing conflict in Ukraine.
“The needs now are as great as ever. Many of the millions who fled are unable to return home, and those who remain face dire conditions, with limited access to water, heat, healthcare and other essential services. Three years on, the mental health toll is huge for those who remain and those who fled to safety.”
Concern Worldwide programme manager in Ukraine, Erica Niel, told how the charity have assisted over 320,000 people there since the current phase of the conflict began in 2022.
She said: “2024 was the toughest year yet for ordinary people in Ukraine as the compound effects of multiple factors really took their toll. Take for example, women with children.
“They are dealing with the daily power cuts, children who cannot go to school or who are taking part in online learning from home, and the lack of livelihoods and income.
“On top of this, because of conscription, many men have been drafted and so they have nobody else in the house to help.
“Elderly people living in high rise blocks of apartments are particularly affected because, in addition to having no heat, light or water, when the lifts are not working, they are dependent on others to bring them supplies to survive.
“We are focused on helping people recover from the immediate and long-term effects of the conflict on their livelihoods, their mental health and their lives.
“Every family that we help to get through the harsh winter, every person we support to bring food to their homes, every displaced person we help get a job or get their business back on its feet — that is the essence of our work in Ukraine.”
And Chernobyl Children International founder Adi Roche said humanity is faced with the devastating reality of an escalating conflict that continues to inflict immeasurable suffering on innocent civilians and poses an unprecedented threat to the environment.
She added: “This war has changed everything. The weaponising of nuclear power in Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia signifies to the world that the nature of modern warfare has changed forever, and brings with it a sense of foreboding for future wars.
“My worst nightmare in this conflict is that the tragedy of a second Chernobyl would be unleashed on the world.
“I fear that this area, a sacred area, an area of utter vulnerability and danger, a special area of human tragedy, could once again have deadly radioactive contamination released which would spread everywhere, like an uncontrollable monster.
“Today, we must unite to call for global recognition of the environmental destruction caused by war and to urge immediate action to safeguard our planet as well as our future generations.”
She added: “The catastrophic Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 left an indelible mark on history, yet in February 2022, the world watched in horror as Russian troops recklessly advanced through the Chernobyl exclusion zone, reawakening deeply buried radioactive elements and contaminating the air, land, and water. This was not merely an act of war. It was an act of nuclear terrorism.”
Politicians are worried this war will not end any time soon.
For Labour foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith, three years on from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lasting peace seems further away than before.
Deputy Smith said: “Despite the talks of peace in recent weeks, it seems like we are in a more insecure place than ever before. Trump has effectively welcomed Putin in out of the cold. The damage that this will have done to achieving peace is immeasurable.
“The people of Ukraine must be assured that any peace negotiations are taking place through the multilateral framework of the UN. It is crucial that Europe, the United States and Russia agree to achieving peace through the UN.
“Worryingly, none of this seems to be on the table at the moment. Three years on from the invasion of Ukraine, it feels like we’re in a more insecure international world than before.
“For any peace to be sustainable, Russia must in the first instance withdraw the pre-invasion borders and return to Ukraine the territory that they have taken.
“Again, this does not seem likely under American-led so-called peace negotiations.”
He added: “Peace can and must be achieved for the people of Ukraine. The international frameworks that are in place are the best way of reaching that goal.”