Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko met with Francois Jacq, Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) Director-General. The parties met on the sidelines of the 67th IAEA General Conference taking place in Vienna.
The Minister of Energy thanked France for its assistance to the Ukrainian energy sector, which was of great importance last winter, amid constant shelling of the energy infrastructure by the enemy. German Galushchenko stressed that the disconnection of power supply to strategic facilities as a result of russian attacks is a direct threat not only to Ukrainian but also to global security.
In particular, as a result of hostile actions, Zaporizhzhia NPP alone has been in blackout seven times and the plant's security systems have been powered by diesel generators. Such actions of the russians pose a direct threat to nuclear and radiation safety of the continent: "russia is destroying everything that nuclear power has achieved," the Minister stressed.
Petro Kotin, President of Energoatom, who also took part in the meeting, informed the French side about the current situation at ZNPP, which, according to him, is getting worse and requires an immediate response from the international community. The head of Energoatom stressed that in order to prevent an accident at ZNPP, the civilised world should force the russians to comply with the fundamental 7 principles of nuclear and radiation safety and leave the Ukrainian plant.
German Galushchenko also thanked France for co-chairing the working group "Presidential Formula for Peace: Radiation and Nuclear Safety". Ukraine is initiating the development of a Concept based on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula that will ensure real mechanisms for states to comply with nuclear and radiation safety rules and promote further development of the nuclear industry. The Minister of Energy stressed that France had a very developed nuclear industry and was one of the world leaders in nuclear energy, so the country's position on this issue was quite important.
François Jacq, in turn, assured that France would continue to support Ukraine in countering russian aggression, particularly on the energy front.