Ukraine’s ambassador to Algeria has offered technical expertise to help clean up radioactive sites left by France’s colonial-era nuclear tests in the Reggane region, drawing on lessons from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Oleksandr Voronin made the offer during a briefing with Algerian media at the Ukrainian embassy, alongside a push to deepen economic ties between the two nations.
Ukraine exported 2.5 million tons of wheat to Algeria last year, he said, out of Algeria’s roughly 9 million tons in total annual imports, with bilateral trade reaching $736 million in 2025.
Voronin recalled that Algeria was among the first countries to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991, and said Kyiv now seeks stronger agricultural cooperation.
War has driven wheat prices up threefold and damaged Ukraine’s port and storage infrastructure, he said, urging Algeria to help secure export routes given its ties with all sides of the conflict.
Talks on direct Ukrainian investment in Algerian grain cultivation were progressing well, he added: “We are on the right track.”