The Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is in Ukraine - the first visit by any foreign minister on the UN Security Council since the Russian invasion began.
He is meeting his counterparts in Kyiv - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
He will also visit areas directly affected by the Russian invasion.
Minister Coveney's discussions with the officials will focus on how Ireland can continue to provide political, security and humanitarian support to Ukraine.
They will also discuss how Ireland can assist Ukraine in its application for EU candidate status, take forward further EU sanctions on Russia and hold Russia to account for its "brutal and unjustified invasion".
Ireland has already provided €20m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in neighboring counties.
The country is also providing €33m in 'non-lethal assistance' for the Ukrainian military through the European Peace Facility.
Speaking in Kyiv, Minister Coveney says: "I'm in Kyiv today because I was invited to come by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, and I was happy to do so.
"We've been planning it for the last 10 days or so.
"We have high-level political meetings here with the Ukrainian government, we're also being brought to the sites where there's been serious atrocities in recent weeks - to Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv.
Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, stands next to the EU flag in Kyiv earlier this week - as an EU delegation returned to the capital. Picture via @EUDelegationUA on Twitter"Of course we're focusing on what Ireland can do in terms of political support, military support, support in the UN Security Council, support of the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute war crimes where and when they've taken place.
"So there's a lot to do in one day and it's a privilege to be here," Mr Coveney adds.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs says: "Ireland has been at the forefront of putting in place a robust EU sanctions regime and of supporting international mechanisms to hold Russia to account for grave violations of international humanitarian law, including referring the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court."
Thursday marks 50 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
It comes as US officials are considering sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to Ukraine's capital in a show of solidarity.
While Finland and Sweden appear to be edging closer to NATO membership, with Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin saying on Wednesday the country had to be "prepared for all kinds of actions from Russia".
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that 1,026 soldiers from Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered in the southern city of Mariupol and that the port had come under Russian control.
Ukraine's general staff confirmed Russian forces were attacking the port area, but said there was no information about a surrender.
Ukrainian soldiers defending the strategically-important city have been fighting for weeks.
Additional reporting: IRN
