A delegation consisting of Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Gaël Vessier, French Ambassador to Ukraine, and senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The guests visited the northern garage of MCS, where the russian UAV Geran-2 hit the NSC Arch, and inspected the damage caused by the strike drone with a high-explosive warhead. In addition, they visited the Central Control Room of the NSC, where ChNPP specialists familiarised them with the functions and features of the NSC systems control.

For the representatives of the French side issues related to the New Safe Confinement safety are of particular importance, since the main contractor for the NSC construction was the French company NOVARKA. Thus, the discussion of issues related to the restoration of the confinement's functions was one of the key topics during this visit.

During the visit, particular attention was paid to the hazards associated with russian military aggression and the actions of the occupiers against Ukrainian nuclear facilities, in particular nuclear power plants. The prospects for cooperation with French partners in the exchange of experience and expert developments in the field of nuclear safety, implementation of joint projects on the damaged spent nuclear fuel management, and the strengthening of physical protection of radiation waste storage and disposal facilities were also discussed.

As the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Mykola Kolisnyk noted, radiation safety is one of the key priorities of the ministry:

-  Ukraine and France are countries with great nuclear potential, so they should actively cooperate in this area.

The Deputy Minister thanked the French guests for the support provided to Ukraine over many years to overcome the Chornobyl accident consequences, as well as for contributions to the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account.