TOMORROW marks the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the war looks no closer to being over.

Whilst Trump pushes Zelenskyy to concede more and more to Putin, the EU’s goal appears to have shifted from no longer seeking a Russian defeat, rather to ensuring that Ukraine as an independent country survives.

Earlier this month, a report by the Kiel Institute in Germany ranked Ireland close to the bottom of a list of countries in terms of provision of lethal and non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.

But this fails to take into consideration the significant amount of humanitarian aid that has been provided.

Ireland has spent over €2 billion domestically supporting people fleeing the war in Ukraine. This includes housing, social welfare benefits, other stipends and healthcare costs such as medical cards.

Ireland’s low ranking in terms of military aid should also be viewed in the context of Irish neutrality.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s security landscape and at the same time has exposed deep tensions within Ireland over neutrality, democratic accountability, and the future of the state’s long-standing “triple lock” system governing overseas troop deployments.

The triple lock requires three conditions before significant deployments abroad: government approval, parliamentary consent, and authorisation from the United Nations Security Council.

For decades, this framework symbolised Ireland’s cautious engagement with international security and its effort to ground military participation in broad global legitimacy.

The Irish government has sought to frame reform of the triple lock and the........

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