Jessica LawrenceBBC News NI
An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) has launched an investigation after drones were detected in Irish skies on the night the Ukrainian president arrived in Ireland.
Volodymyr Zelensky flew into Dublin late on Monday night for a one-day official visit with his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska.
Senior Irish government figures, including Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin, have been briefed on the issue. Martin confirmed it would be discussed at a National Security Council meeting later this month.
In a statement, gardaí said its Special Detective Unit (SDU) is investigating the matter and will be liaising with the Defence Forces and international security partners.
In a statement on Thursday, the Irish Defence Forces said it had no comment on “the specifics of any alleged incidents”.
On Monday, crew on board the Irish naval vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats spotted several unidentified drones flying near Howth, over the Irish Sea, around the same time Zelensky arrived in Dublin Airport, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.
Speaking during a meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC) in Cardiff, the taoiseach said the Ukrainian president’s visit went well, and the security dimension went “particularly well”.
While Martin said he did not want to comment on security matters, he said a review would now take place and it will include drones.
“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.
“Suffice to say that 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.”
