Diana Shehepeleva does not believe Russia will stop attacking her hometown of Odesa, the port city in southern Ukraine, despite a deal to reopen Black Sea ports and resume grain exports.
“It’s very hard to make agreements with them. You cannot trust them,” she said.
The 30-year-old Ukrainian woman was among more than 100 people who attended a protest outside the Russian embassy on Orwell Road in Rathgar, south Dublin, on Sunday afternoon.
The demonstration was organised to mark the five-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has displaced millions of people, including more than 43,000 who have come to Ireland.
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Ukrainian protesters echoed the anger of their president Volodymyr Zelenskiy over the Russian attack on Odesa on Saturday, a day after the countries signed an exports deal, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, in an attempt to ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Two missiles fired from war ships in the Black Sea hit a pumping station at the port, while another two missiles were shot down by air defence forces, according to Ukraine’s military.
Ms Shehepeleva came to Ireland after the war started on February 24th when some Irish people she had befriended during their visit to Odesa a year ago invited her to stay with them. “I would like to go back but cannot say when because it is just too dangerous,” she said.
Oksana Derevianko (41), who attended the demonstration with her sister Victoria Malaki (35) and their two children, used to live near the port in Odesa. They came to Ireland a month ago.
“My husband works right near the port. He heard the shelling. And now all I want to say is that Russia as a state cannot be trusted. They violated the agreement less than 24 hours after signing it,” said Ms Derevianko.
The sisters decided to leave Ukraine to protect their children from Russia’s attacks.
“We live right near the sea. It used to be a nice place but now it’s very dangerous there,” said Ms Malaki.
Michael Baskin, chairman of the Ukrainian Crisis Centre Ireland, which organised the demonstration, said he did not believe the deal would be honoured because the experience in the run-up to the invasion and since the war began showed that Russia could not be trusted.
“For a minute, I didn’t believe it would be a different scenario. I knew they would go there and pretend by signing some agreement,” he said.
He believes the Russians will “die for Odesa” because it is a symbolic target for the Kremlin.
The crowds of protesters at the Russian embassy have grown smaller as each month of war has passed. Sunday’s protest was organised to remind people that the war was still ongoing.
It took Krystyna Avadani (28) two attempts to leave Russian-occupied Kherson, another southern Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea. She came to Ireland a month ago.
“I feel that every Ukrainian must attend such protests and remind the world and themselves about the darkest time for our country and Europe in general,” she said.
“My friends and relatives in Kherson sometimes feel abandoned and forgotten.”
