Ireland plans to send to Kyiv a group of Army Rangers (ARW), a special unit of the Irish Defence Forces, according to The Irish Times.

According to the newspaper, the special forces will ensure the security of the Irish embassy, which reopened in August 2022, and the personal protection of Ambassador Theresa Healey.

The issue of sending rangers was raised in 2022, but at that time there was no settled legislation in Ireland allowing the deployment of rangers outside the country.

Despite the lack of a legal framework, in 2021, the ARW team provided security to Irish officials at Kabul airport while evacuating Irish citizens from Afghanistan.

In 2015, ARW personal protection units were deployed to Lebanon to defend a former Irish soldier in court, and regularly accompanied ministers visiting UN offices in particularly dangerous parts of the world.

The 2006 law provides for sending Irish soldiers overseas for a variety of reasons, including training, ceremonial duties, and humanitarian tasks. But it does not explicitly mention the protection of embassy personnel.

According to the publication, Foreign Affairs and Defense Minister Michel Martin is preparing to amend the legislation to allow the deployment of troops for this purpose, after which a team of personal guards will immediately travel to Kyiv.

The Ukrainian government has already informed Irish officials that it will allow the deployment of armed Irish troops on its territory for protection purposes.