Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris to discuss Russia’s invasion as at least 11 civilians were killed in attacks in the east and south of the country.
Zelenskiy stopped off in Ireland on July 13 on his way back to Ukraine from the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, where alliance members announced they would continue to back the embattled country with military aid.
Though Ireland joined the alliance’s Partnership for Peace program in 1999 to increase interoperability with other Western militaries, it is a neutral country and does not support parties involved in conflict with military aid.
In a post on X, Zelenskiy said he and Harris discussed demining, cybersecurity, and the fate of Ukrainian children taken to Russia against their will. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has taken thousands of children from the occupied territories to Russia.
Zelenskiy will travel next week to the United Kingdom for a meeting of the European Political Community, a collective launched following Russia's invasion. Nearly 50 European leaders will attend the event hosted by new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including Harris.
The NATO summit and European Political Community meeting come as Russia doubles down on its invasion of Ukraine with the help of China, North Korea, and Iran.
Russia has been slowly grinding forward in Ukraine's Donetsk region, though at a significant cost in human life and equipment.
More than 10,000 Russian soldiers have been confirmed killed this year, according to an investigation published on July 13, though the actual number is most likely much higher.
Six people were killed and 22 injured overnight in the Donbas region, Ukrainian officials said on July 13.
Meanwhile, two people were killed and two injured in a Russian strike on Priozernye village in the Ukrainian-controlled Kherson region, Aleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson military administration, said on his Telegram channel.
In the Dnipro region, three people were injured in a Russian strike, the local administration said, while in the Kharkiv region, three were killed and dozens injured in attacks.
Russia has stepped up air strikes against Ukraine's armed forces and infrastructure this year amid Kyiv's deficit of air defenses.
Russia has damaged half of Ukraine’s power capacity, causing outages across the country. Amid a jump in demand triggered by a heat wave, Ukraine's state power operater said on July 13 that outages had increased.
NATO allies announced this week plans to donate five air-defense systems and hundreds of missiles and also reiterated the first deliveries of F-16s this summer.
