Russian naval exercises off Ireland’s coast ‘not welcome,’ says Foreign Minister

Planned Russian naval exercises within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are “not welcome” or “wanted right now,” Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said, as tensions between Russia and the West continue to simmer over fears that Moscow is planning an invasion of Ukraine.

Russian naval exercises are due to take place in early February, approximately 240 kilometers (149 miles) off Ireland’s southwest coast, Simon Coveney said in a statement late Sunday. The area is in Ireland’s EEZ but not its territorial waters.

Under international law, states are entitled to carry out naval exercises in another state’s EEZ, Coveney said. He said the Irish Aviation Authority had been informed of the exercise via standard procedures.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Related article NATO allies put forces on standby as tensions rise over Ukraine crisis

“In light of the current political and security environment in Europe, the Department of Foreign Affairs has raised a number of concerns with the Russian authorities in respect of these exercises,” Coveney added.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop buildup near the border spurring fears Moscow could soon launch an invasion. The Kremlin has denied it is planning to attack, arguing NATO support for Ukraine constitutes a growing threat on Russia’s western flank.

NATO allies are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe, the organization said Monday. Meanwhile, the US State Department announced Sunday evening it would reduce staff levels at the US Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, beginning with the departure of nonessential staff and family members.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, left, speaks with Belgium's Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, on January 24.

On his way into the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, Coveney told reporters that he will brief his EU counterparts on Russia’s plans to conduct the naval exercises.

Although the area is part of Ireland’s EEZ, it is in international waters, meaning Ireland doesn’t “have a power to prevent this happening,” the Foreign Minister remarked.

“I’ve made it clear to the Russian ambassador in Ireland that it’s not welcome. This isn’t the time to increase military activity and tension in the context of what’s happening with and in Ukraine at the moment,” Coveney emphasized.

“The fact that they’re choosing to do it on the western borders, if you like, off the EU, off the Irish coast, is something that, in our view is simply not welcome and not wanted right now, particularly in the coming weeks,” he said.

Denis, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, holds a machine gun in Marinka, Ukraine. The 38-year-old was previously a welder. Now he's on the front lines just a few hundred yards away from Russian-backed separatists.

Fighters with the Right Sector, a paramilitary organization that has also become a political party, eat lunch at the group's headquarters in Novohrodivka, Ukraine. The Right Sector formed in 2013 during the Maidan revolution in Kyiv, and in 2014 and 2015 it fought many battles against Russian-supported separatists.

Ukrainian soldiers walk past a destroyed building in Marinka.

Ukrainian Navy Capt. Oleksandr Hrigorevskiy stands on the dock of Mariupol's port with his ship, the Donbas, behind him. "I don't expect a war at sea with the Russians," he said.

Ukrainians coming from the separatist-held territory stop at the Novotroitskoye checkpoint.

Anna Yvleva, a 30-year-old member of the Ukrainian military, commands an infantry squad of six men. She is married to an officer in the same battalion. Her four children are being cared for by their grandmother while their parents are deployed on the front lines. Yvleva told photographer Timothy Fadek she was a teacher before she joined the military four years ago.

Zoya Kralya, 66, is one of the last remaining residents of Vodyane, Ukraine, a tiny hamlet in the Donetsk area. Ever since her husband died a few years ago, she has lived alone and tends to her goats and a number of dogs and cats. "If there is war, I will shelter in the basement, stocked with food and water in case I have to be underground for weeks," she told Fadek. "The conflict in 2014 and 2015 was the worst thing I experienced in my life. I don't want to live through it again."

Ukrainian soldiers are posted in Marinka.

A member of the Ukrainian military holds a periscope as he climbs down from a lookout point near Shyrokyne, Ukraine.

Local residents drive past an apartment building in Marinka. The building was badly damaged during fighting in 2015 between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists.

A Ukrainian soldier mans a gunner position in a front-line trench in Avdiivka, Ukraine.

A Ukrainian soldier is seen at a front-line position in Marinka.

Ukrainian soldiers take shelter in a front-line trench in Pisky, Ukraine. This trench was about 100 meters (109 yards) from separatist positions, Fadek said.

Boys fish for carp and perch in Marinka. "They don't read the news and have no opinion about the Russian military buildup," Fadek said. "But they said their parents were extremely worried and watch television news constantly."

A Ukrainian soldier walks through a destroyed industrial zone in Avdiivka that, in some areas, is only 50 meters (about 55 yards) from the separatist trenches.

Zhanna, 42, is a lieutenant and doctor in the Ukrainian army, based in Avdiivka. Before joining the army last year, she was a pediatric physician in a local hospital. Her husband is an officer in the army. "I'm not sure that there will be an attack by Russia," she said, "but I am ready to treat the soldiers in case they are wounded in fighting."

Soldiers keeps watch at their front-line position in Avdiivka.

A Ukrainian soldier holds a cat in Avdiivka.

Ukrainian soldiers keep watch on the front line in Avdiivka.

Soldiers sit in the back of a truck in Slov'yanoserbs'k, Ukraine.

A soldier stands in a trench in Avdiivka.

A resident rides a bicycle in Marinka. "Although this small city is less than 15 miles from the separatist front line, residents try to continue their lives as normal as possible," Fadek said.

Viktoria, right, watches television with her 10-year-old daughter and her son and his girlfriend in Marinka. When asked if she had a message for the world leaders involved in the conflict Viktoria said: "Stop. Just stop. It's enough. Think about your children if they were here."

A woman walks past a damaged apartment building in Marinka. "The mood was somber, depressed and resigned," Fadek said. "People are going through the motions of their daily lives."

A look inside a Ukrainian trench on the front lines.

Ukrainian soldiers guard a front-line trench position.

A Ukrainian soldier keeps watch in Avdiivka.

A destroyed car is seen outside a damaged building in Avdiivka.

A Ukrainian soldier walks through the industrial zone in Avdiivka.

Men play billiards in Marinka during a local tournament.

In the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, near the front lines, life goes on for teenage rock band Metamorphoza. Maksym, 14, is the drummer. Valeria, 15, is on bass guitar, and Vadim, 15, plays lead guitar and is the main songwriter. All are from Avdiivka, and they have been playing together for two years. "Sometimes we can hear the shelling at night, but we try to block it out," Maksym said. Valeria added, "We are used to it."

A Ukrainian soldier walks through a destroyed industrial zone in Avdiivka that has seen heavy shelling over the years.

A farmer in Muratove, Ukraine, chops wood while family members collect it to sell to a nearby Ukrainian army base.

These Ukrainian soldiers Fadek spent time were extremely relaxed, he said. "They have embraced the inevitability."

A woman sells dried fish on the road leading to Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

A soldier walks with dogs in a front-line trench. "I've been in the trenches many times before in the summer," Fadek said. "This is the first time it was in the winter. Visually, because the trenches and the landscape are covered in snow, it reminds me of World War I trenches. Cold misery."

On the front lines, Ukrainians brace for possible attack

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EU foreign ministers want to send a clear message to Russia that if it decides to invade Ukraine it will be hit by the “most comprehensive” package of sanctions and restrictions ever prepared by the EU, Coveney said.

US officials have said a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen at any point in the next month or two.

The UK foreign office said in a statement on Saturday that it has information the Russian government is planning to “install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine.”

James Frater reported from London, Niamh Kennedy reported from Dublin.