An arms industry lobbyist who regularly features in Irish media discussions about neutrality – without his interests being disclosed – facilitated a meeting between Irish businesses and senior Ukrainian military officials.
UCD professor of international relations Ben Tonra is a founder and director of the Irish Defence and Security Association (IDSA) – lobbyists representing the “defence industry”.
In April 2024 IDSA operations manager Oisín Green invited clients to meet via Zoom with Ukrainian military officials. Correspondence seen by The Ditch shows scheduled attendees included defence ministry colonel Vitaly Cherniuk and Alexandre Yurchak,…