Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has received a delegation of French senators led by head of the Ukraine-France friendship group Herve Maurey and discussed the situation in Russian-occupied Donbas and Crimea with them.

"The head of state expressed concern about the systemic violations of the Minsk accords by Russia and the militants it supports, in particular about the ongoing provocations that undermine the implementation of the ceasefire initiative related to the start of the new school year. They also hamper the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission's work," the presidential website said in a statement.

Poroshenko backed the French senators' plans to the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone in eastern Ukraine to learn first-hand the situation in Donbas caused by Russian aggression. The sides also discussed the state of implementation of political and economic reforms in Ukraine.

Maurey welcomed the introduction of reforms in Ukraine. "We were convinced that in the two years that have passed since our previous visit, Ukraine, being under your leadership, has managed to introduce many reforms in different sectors: fighting corruption, reforming the banking sector and the energy sector. This result really amazes. Furthermore, these reforms are conducted in the conditions of actual war, and therefore we want to congratulate you on these achievements," he said.

Poroshenko, in turn, expressed hope for France's support of Ukraine's further steps towards integration into the EU.