Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement on the “hundred-year partnership” of both countries in Kiev. The document concerns, among others, security issues, deepening defense cooperation, health care, technology and cooperation in the field of migration.
– Today we have reached a new level of relations, which is more than just a strategic relationship. We signed a hundred-year cooperation agreement. We are sure of the independence of our country and this is something Ukrainians will never give up, said the Ukrainian president. Volodymyr Zelensky at a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister.
– We are confident in our European partners, and this strengthens both Ukraineas well as Great Britain and our entire Euro-Atlantic space. This is the basis of mutual relations between our nations in the coming generation, Zelensky emphasized.
– We have agreed to provide Ukraine with at least $3.6 billion in annual military aid, depending on needs. In addition, we have prepared a decision on another three billion dollars from Russian assets. And this fiscal year we should receive $6.6 billion from Great Britain, said the head of the Ukrainian state.
Keir Starmer and Volodymyr ZelenskySERGEY DOLZHENKO/PAP/EPA
Great Britain will donate 150 artillery launchers to Ukraine
Starmer called the agreement historic and said it would take Ukrainian-British cooperation to a higher level. The British Prime Minister announced the transfer of British artillery weapons and a new mobile air defense system to Ukraine.
– I am pleased to announce today that we will deliver 150 artillery launchers that have been manufactured in the UK and can be transferred to Ukraine in just a few weeks. We will also deliver a new mobile air defense system called Grateful, the production of which is financed jointly with Denmark – explained the Prime Minister.
The agreement on the “hundred-year partnership” consists of 14 articles, the first of which provides for: deepening defense cooperation, including the development of the armed forces and cooperation of arms industries, strengthening the Ukrainian defense procurement system and technology transfer for the joint production of weapons, as well as coordination of Ukraine's activities with standards NATO.
Great Britain and Ukraine have signed a “hundred-year partnership” agreement
According to a statement posted on the website UK governmentthe three most important points of the bilateral treaty are: the establishment of a new format that is intended to strengthen the level of security in the Baltic, Azov and Black Seas, London's obligation to share experience with Kiev in various fields in order to jointly develop projects regarding, among others, drones and health care, the introduction by the British side of a new version of the Grain Verification Scheme, which allows tracking grain stolen from the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
The parties also agreed to jointly counteract manipulation and interference in the information sphere, strengthen their positions as leaders in the fields of science, technology and innovation, effectively use the potential of socio-cultural relations and cooperate in the field of migration.
On Thursday, the day the agreement was signed, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the transfer of a new tranche of humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine.
“UK support for Ukraine continues – £100 million in humanitarian aid, including for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Ukrainian Red Cross; £40 million to support the economy, which will allow (money) to be unlocked in the form of private loans to help dynamizing (economic) growth and trade,” the ministry announced on October.
The head of the British government arrived in Ukraine on Thursday on an unannounced visit. An air raid alarm was announced during Starmer's visit to Kiev. The drone used by Russia to attack Kiev flew in the afternoon near the site of the meeting between the British Prime Minister and the Ukrainian President.
A loud noise could be heard in the presidential palace, where the two leaders were to hold a press conference. Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense then tried to shoot down the Russian machine – reported the portal of the British daily “Guardian”.
“During the raid, a Shahed drone was spotted near the Verkhovna Rada and explosions were heard,” Iryna Herashchenko, a deputy to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, said on Telegram.
Main photo source: SERGEY DOLZHENKO/PAP/EPA