British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, traveling to kyiv, announced on Friday the signing of a ten-year security agreement between his country and Ukraine, hailed as “unprecedented” by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rishi Sunak, who wanted to send a “message” with this surprise visit, pleaded for continued Western aid, essential for kyiv.
Any weakening of this support would “encourage” not only Russian President Vladimir Putin but also “his allies in North Korea, Iran and elsewhere,” he assured.
“If Putin wins in Ukraine, he will not stop there,” the prime minister said, promising that the country was “not alone” and would “never” be.
kyiv is worried that its European and American allies are hesitant, due to internal political dissensions, to grant it more aid to fight the Russian invasion.
The new head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, is “on his way to kyiv” where he is due to meet Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday to demonstrate French support for Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been trying in recent weeks to remobilize his allies, praised the “unprecedented security agreement” concluded with the United Kingdom for ten years.
“This is not a simple statement. This is a reality that will come to fruition thanks to our cooperation,” he promised.
This text follows promises of bilateral agreements by G7 countries at the NATO summit in Vilnius last year.
The United Kingdom, Ukraine’s early supporter in the face of the Russian invasion, is the first country to achieve a final agreement, according to Downing Street.
Thousands of drones
Rishi Sunak also announced an increase in military aid and the delivery of thousands of drones.
“We are one of the most important supporters of Ukraine, especially when it comes to military aid,” he said.
UK military aid for the year 2024/2025 will amount to £2.5 billion, an increase of £200 million on the previous two years.
It will bring the total amount of British aid to Ukraine to almost 12 billion pounds sterling (14 billion euros).
This support is commensurate with “the seriousness of the situation here” and “our determination” to support Ukraine, added Rishi Sunak, stressing that this is, for this year, his first visit to the foreigner and the first of a foreign leader in Ukraine.
“Putin may think he can last longer than us, but he is wrong,” he promised.
His visit comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Thursday that any “pause” in Ukraine’s defense would only help Moscow rearm and allow it to “crush” Ukraine.
The British envelope must be used to provide long-range missiles, air defense, artillery ammunition and maritime security instruments.
At least £200 million is part of a move to “rapidly supply and produce thousands of military drones”, including “surveillance drones, long-range strike drones and maritime drones”, according to Downing Street.
According to London, this will be “the largest delivery of drones to Ukraine of any country”. Most of these aircraft will be produced in the United Kingdom.