Kyiv (Eurotoday) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inked a “100-Year Partnership.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on January 16, 2025.
The treaty signed covers the domains of security, science, energy, and trade. It seeks to strengthen military collaboration to improve security in the Baltic, Black, and Azov Seas and deter Russian aggression.
“Together we signed a landmark agreement, the very first of its kind, a new partnership between the UK and Ukraine that reflects the huge affection that exists between our two nations,” Starmer told reporters.
“Today is a truly historic day, our relationship is closer than ever,” Zelenskyy told the media after the signing.
In a mutual press gathering with Zelenskyy, Starmer also expressed that his country would play its full role in ensuring Ukraine’s safety and that discussions on the matter would continue for months. According to Starmer, his country would provide Ukraine with a new mobile air defense system that would be designed to satisfy Ukraine’s requirements. The agreement builds upon the previous agreements of 2020 and 2024, with the main points including maritime security and technological cooperation.
UK military aid to Ukraine since 2022:
Since the new Russian aggression in 2022, the UK significantly enhanced its military support and launched Operation ORBITAL, which focuses on strengthening the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The UK has supplied lethal arms, trained over 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and offered tremendous financial assistance, estimated at about £12.8 billion (approximately $16 billion), since the beginning of the war.
Since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, cooperation between the United Kingdom and Ukraine has completely taken on a different dimension. The cooperation began formally after the United Kingdom recognized Ukraine’s independence and thereafter deepened with successive agreements and military assistance initiatives.
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