Review into Zelensky drone scare set to take two weeks: 'It's not unique to Ireland'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) shakes hands with Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Dublin. (Image: PA)A review into the drones spotted when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Ireland will be completed in the next two weeks.On December 1, several unidentified drones which were not for civilian use were seen on President Zelensky’s first official visit to Ireland.Last Friday, it was confirmed that An Garda Síochána's Special Detective Unit is investigating the incident.Speaking this morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it wasn’t a surprise that Ireland was targeted by potentially sinister drones during President Zelensky’s visit.He said: “Since the onset of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia there has been a significant escalation of a whole range of types of attacks and threats largely we would think emanating from Russia in terms of cyber attacks.“And in terms of hybrid attacks in many of the Baltic states, members of the EU and in Copenhagen we witnessed the emergency drones and in Belgium, incidents in UK territorial borders, France, and also in Ireland in the context of the visit of President Zelensky.“So in many ways this is not a surprise because a pattern has been emerging for quite some time.”The Taoiseach said the security landscape within the EU has “changed dramatically” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.When asked if the incident is embarrassing for Ireland as it shows a weakness in security and defence, the Taoiseach said: “This is a pattern across Europe, it’s not unique to Ireland. I would make the general point that the security operation around the visit of President Zelensky was impactful and thankfully he had a good visit here, and that was important.”Mr Martin said he will receive a report on the drone incident from the National Security Council “within the next week or two”.He said it will be “a comprehensive report”, adding: “On an ongoing basis we share knowledge to all of the members of the EU and the UK and we will share this with our colleagues to cooperate and coordinate our intelligence on this and future approaches to threats on this kind in terms of drones and cyber attacks and other types of attacks.”
