The European Union must double down and levy “robust and targeted” economic sanctions on Russia to pressure Moscow to end its war, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said on the eve of a visit to Ukraine. Martin will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior figures in the Ukrainian government during a one-day visit to the country on Thursday, where he will be brought around areas damaged by Russia’s intensifying bombardment of Ukraine’s capital city.Speaking before the visit, Martin reiterated that the Government was a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the EU in the coming years. “We will also work on increasing pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression, including through further robust and targeted sanctions,” he said. Government figures expect Zelenskiy will likely again raise the topic of Aughinish Alumina and repeat his appeal for EU-level sanctions to bar the Co Limerick plant from exporting raw material to Russia. The two leaders will discuss the state of play in the Ukraine war, nearly four and a half years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion.“Having endured more than four years of brutal aggression against its people and territory, Ukraine continues to demonstrate tremendous resilience and courage in the face of relentless Russian attacks, which have intensified on Kyiv and other parts of the country in recent weeks,” Martin said in a statement issued on the eve of his visit. The Taoiseach will meet Ukraine’s new prime minister, Serhii Koretskyi, an energy chief from the private sector who was appointed in a recent reshuffle of Ukraine’s wartime cabinet. Martin will also meet Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, to discuss Ukraine’s aspirations for EU membership and the often years-long process of internal reforms required of candidate countries. The visit comes at a time when Zelenskiy faces a political storm on the domestic front. Significant numbers of people have taken to the streets to protest the president’s decision to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov, his popular defence minister who has championed the widespread deployment of drones on the battlefield, following his clash with Ukraine’s top general over battlefield strategy. Separately, diplomats from the EU’s 27 member states were locked in negotiations in Brussels on Wednesday for several hours, in an attempt to finally settle on the scope of a fresh package of sanctions aimed at choking Russia’s economy. Landing on a sanctions deal that has the support of all national capitals has proved difficult. Several countries, including Greece, Germany, and Portugal, have pushed for carve outs and concessions, to protect certain domestic industries from the fallout of measures curtailing Russia’s ability to export seafood and liquefied natural gas. Discussions on the proposed set of sanctions – the 21st round since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022 – will pick back up on Thursday morning.