The European Union will be united in its “very strong response” to any Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Irish premier has said.

Micheal Martin made the comments after EU leaders met this week to discuss the latest developments in Brussels.

Mr Martin said he will work with his EU colleagues to respond to any threats from Russia, including any cyber security fears.

“We will make sure we have the best systems in place. We are taking all precautionary measures right now in terms of potential attacks of that kind, no matter where they emanate from,” he said in Brussels on Friday.

“In terms of sanctions, that creates challenges for all member states, but we are united in terms of having a very strong response to any invasion of the Ukraine.”

It comes as separatists in eastern Ukraine announced plans to evacuate civilians to Russia.

Mr Martin said the EU is seeking to keep the peace.

“At the moment dialogue and diplomacy is where the focus is and moves to de-escalate the situation,” he added.

“Everybody wants to avoid conflict and war and certainly the European Union is of that mind. But equally the EU is very unified and that unity will be our strength in terms of defending the best interests of Ukraine.

“The quality of life for many citizens is now impaired and from an economic perspective we want to protect Ukraine and we believe the current massing of troops to the scale that has occurred is not justifiable under any circumstances and we called for a de-escalation.

“The diplomacy will continue until that end.”