Ireland was ‘lucky’ the jet flying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to Dublin was not struck down by Russian drones, an expert has claimed.
John O’Brennan, professor of European politics at Maynooth University, said it is probable the Russians were trying to kill Mr Zelensky during his first official visit to this country last Monday.
A number of drones were spotted in the air on his arrival in Dublin, and senior Government figures were briefed about several drones in Irish airspace last Monday night as the Ukrainian president arrived.
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Mr Zelensky landed at Dublin Airport shortly before 11 pm on Monday for a one-day official visit with his wife, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska. It is understood that the crew on the Irish naval vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats spotted several unidentified drones, which were not for civilian use, north of Dublin.
Professor O’Brennan told RTÉ Radio: ‘The Russians have tried to assassinate Zelensky a number of times in recent years, especially in the initial push when they tried to take Kyiv. The plan was to assassinate him and replace him with a puppet president who would do Russia’s bidding.
‘Now for us, this wasn’t unprecedented, as we have seen Russian manoeuvres in Irish waters and in the skies. But [we] have to think about what might have happened. If that plane had come down, I think we got very lucky because Zelensky’s people came in significantly early.
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‘I think it’s very possible that the Russians would have had counter-technology which might have allowed them to do this [bring down the plane carrying Mr Zelensky and his wife].’
When asked by Brendan O’Connor if Ireland just got lucky that the plane was not struck by the drones, Prof. O’Brennan agreed that this was the case, saying: ‘The Russians have been upping the ante on a whole range of different kinds of attacks, including on airports and repeated incursions into the airspace of European countries, sometimes with aircraft and sometimes with drones.
‘These were five military-style drones, each the size of a wood pallet, and I think if that plane had come down, it would have been a reputational catastrophe for Ireland because it would have revealed to the world that we have virtually no systems of security and defence and that no European leaders would be safe.
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‘I think there is a lot of investigation that needs to be done.’ He continued: ‘We have real responsibilities here [as] next year we host the [EU] presidency. This [the Zelensky visit] was seen a trial run, and God help us if we are going to see a repeat of this. We will have prime ministers and presidents from every European Union member state, and ministers, so we have to change almost everything in how we approach our security and defence.’
He added that ‘we haven’t been taking this seriously, the Russians see us as the weak underbelly of European security’.
Gardaí are investigating the presence of drones over Ireland during Mr Zelensky’s visit, in which he gave a historic address to a joint sitting of the Oireachtas and met Government figures and President Catherine Connolly.
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Senior Government figures, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, have been briefed on the issue. Mr Martin confirmed it would be discussed at a National Security Council meeting later this month. While the Taoiseach said he did not want to comment on security matters, he confirmed a review will now take place.
‘It’s been a feature now across Europe, in more recent times, the emergence of drones in the airspace of other colleagues in the European Union member states, and we liaise and… we share experience,’ he added.
‘Since the onset of the Ukrainian war, there’s been heightened activity on the cyber-security front, in terms of maritime issues and in terms of drones.’
Asked if this suggested Russia’s involvement in the drone activity, the Taoiseach responded: ‘I’m not going to make any comment until we have a full review.’