French Foreign Minister Arrives in Kiev to Show Paris' Support, Discuss Nuclear Safety

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday arrived in Kiev for her third visit since she assumed office in May to reiterate France's support and solidarity, as well as work on nuclear safety.

"Good morning #Ukraine, it's good to be back. #Kyiv," Colonna said on Twitter, attaching a photo of her and French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins on a walk in Kiev.

The minister plans to meet with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the French foreign ministry.

"She [Colonna] will emphasize France’s increased support in terms of supplying defence equipment and tools to fight impunity, and on the financial and humanitarian levels," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

On September 28, France will send over 1,000 tonnes in humanitarian aid from the port city of Marseille, the ministry noted.

In addition, Colonna will work with Ukrainian colleagues on the initiative of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to create a safety zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), the statement read.

Located on the left bank of the Dnieper River, the ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and output. During the military operation in Ukraine, launched by Russia on February 24, the nuclear plant and surrounding area went under the control of Russian forces and has since been targeted by Ukrainian troops multiple times, though Kiev has blamed the attacks on Moscow.

An international mission led by the IAEA visited the Zaporozhye NPP from August 31 to September 3. As a result of the visit, the agency issued a report on the situation at the facility and called on all sides to the conflict to end the shelling of the plant and establish a safety zone around it.