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The deal will formalize “unbreakable bonds” between the two countries, the British government has claimed
The UK and Ukraine will sign a 100-year partnership agreement during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first trip to Kiev since taking office, London has said.
The British government announced the planned deal on Thursday, shortly before Starmer arrived in the Ukrainian capital.
The touted agreement will formalize “the unbreakable bonds” between the two countries, “further expanding bilateral ties in defense” and other areas, the government statement read.
The pact would “deter ongoing Russian aggression” against Ukraine and commit London and Kiev to increasing defense cooperation, including on maritime security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov, it stated.
Later the same day at a joint press conference with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Starmer announced that his government would provide Kiev with a new mobile air defence system, stating that it would be specifically “developed to meet Ukraine’s needs.”
The Sea of Azov is surrounded by Russia, since the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions officially became part of the Russian Federation, following referendums in the fall of 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have since then described it as Russia’s “inland sea.”
The deal reportedly envisages a UK-built Grain Verification Scheme to track down what London claims is “stolen grain,” but is in fact produced in Russia’s new territories.
“We are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level,” Starmer claimed before his trip.
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s prime backers since the escalation of conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. It has committed 12.8 billion pounds ($16 billion) in military and civilian aid to Ukraine and reportedly trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil.
However, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that officials close to Zelensky have privately expressed disappointment in Starmer for months over what they described as his cautious approach to Ukraine. According to the agency, the Ukrainian leadership has also questioned why it took the British prime minister, who assumed office more than six months ago, so long to visit Kiev.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously said that Britain’s continued support for Ukraine is a sign that the UK government “clearly does not seek to resolve the conflict [between Moscow and Kiev]. They are doing everything possible to make it drag on, thus prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”
