Ukraine - Visit by Catherine Colonna - Statement by the ministry for Europe and foreign Affairs spokesperson (September 27, 2022)

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Mme Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is in Kyiv today for the third time since Russia launched its aggression. In the context of the irresponsible statements issued by the Russian authorities and the illegal organization of sham referendums on Ukraine’s territory, the Minister would like to demonstrate to the Ukrainian people France’s solidarity and its full determination to step up its support for Ukraine and for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The visit follows the French authorities’ active efforts during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week, which highlighted Russia’s isolation and the international community’s widespread support for respecting the United Nations Charter and the territorial integrity of States.

On this visit, Mme Colonna will talk to her Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Dmytro Kuleba, and President Zelenskyy. She will emphasize France’s increased support in terms of supplying defence equipment and tools to fight impunity, and on the financial and humanitarian levels, on the lines of operation Un bateau pour l’Ukraine [a ship for Ukraine]; the ship will leave Marseille on 28 September with over 1,000 tonnes of aid on board. The Minister will be going to Marseille for this purpose following the Ukraine visit. The Minister will also work with her Ukrainian interlocutors on swiftly implementing the IAEA Director General’s proposals to establish a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which received broad international support in New York following France’s initiative.

In line with the Security Council’s first ministerial meeting on the fight against impunity in Ukraine, which she chaired last week and which was attended by Dmytro Kuleba and the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, the Minister will talk to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Mr Andriy Kostine. She will welcome the new mission of the Gendarmerie Forensic Institute (IRCGN), which will help identify victims and gather evidence of the crimes committed in the Kharkhiv region, and particularly in Izium.

During the visit the Minister will inaugurate Neo-Eco’s pilot materials-recycling project, in the presence of Mr Oleksiy Kuleba, Governor of Kyiv Oblast, as part of our efforts to support the rebuilding of Ukraine. She will visit both the Institut français in Kyiv for its reopening, to talk to French-speaking Ukrainian students, and the Embassy, to pay tribute to the outstanding work of all its staff since the crisis began.