This week’s host, Pat Leahy, is joined on the line by Irish Times Europe Correspondent Jack Power to discuss Taoiseach Simon Harris’s visit to Ukraine earlier this week.

Taoiseach Simon Harris met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday to pledge €36 million in funding to humanitarian organisations operating in Ukraine, funding of a non-lethal character and therefore would not contravene Ireland’s neutrality.

Simon Harris also signed an agreement of understanding with Ukraine, a document reaffirming Ireland’s long-term support for the eastern European country that is now 2½-years into its conflict with Russia.

The Taoiseach met Zelenskiy in the capital Kyiv which, like several other cities there, continues to experience heavy Russian bombardment. The city now operates on a much-reduced energy supply, with households only having power for four hours per day, a result of strategic Russian strikes on power plants and other energy sources. Jack notes a palpable sense of fatigue in Kyiv, etched in the faces of Zelenskiy and people going about their day there.

Also on this episode, Pat and Jack discuss the likelihood of Michael McGrath landing a prestigious portfolio under European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Could von der Leyen’s preference for gender balance scupper McGrath’s prospects?

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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