On 10th February 2024, the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius visited Chornobyl NPP and the exclusion zone.

The official delegation included representatives from the European Parliament and Commission, the European Climate Foundation, the European Institute of Peace, media outlets, and others. They were accompanied by representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources led by Ruslan Strilets and the leadership of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management.

At ChNPP site the delegation was hosted by ChNPP’s Acting Director General Serhii Martynov and Technical Director (-Chief Engineer) Oleksandr Titarchuk. They visited the New Safe Confinement, including the Central Control Room and the main volume under the Arch.

Overall, the visit aimed to familiarize with the consequences of the hostilities in Kyiv region during the full-scale invasion of Russian forces into Ukraine in February-March 2022 to the environment. European officials and journalists visited abandoned town of Prypiat, saw the remnants of military fortifications near Borodyanka, Ivankiv, in forested areas around Kyiv, and visited the remnants of the dam near the village of Kozarovychy.

It's worth noting that on July 1, 2022, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, during his visit to Kyiv with Ukrainian Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets, signed an agreement on Ukraine’s accession to the LIFE program for environment and climate. Ukraine became the first non-EU country to join the program, granting it access to LIFE support for environmental recovery following the destruction caused by Russian invasion or other negative consequences.