UK and Ukraine sign security agreement as British prime minister visits Kyiv

Europe, News January 14, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to provide Kyiv with more than $3 billion in military aid during his latest trip to Ukraine. Sunak met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his trip to Kyiv as he said that “Ukraine will never be alone.”

The British Prime Minister arrived in Kyiv on January 12, 2024, to meet the Ukrainian leadership. During his visit, he announced a fresh assistance package for Ukraine. The latest package includes a boost in military funding to support Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia, which, after 22 months, displays no indications of resolution.

Britain’s $3 billion military aid package would be provided to Ukraine over the next financial year. The aid funding will cover the cost of long-range missiles, thousands of combat drones, air defense systems, artillery ammunition, and maritime security equipment. The funding also includes $22 million in humanitarian aid.

A statement released by Sunak’s office said that “the funding will help to leverage the best of UK military expertise and defense production to ensure Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield, including in critical areas like long-range missiles, air defense, artillery ammunition, and maritime security.”

I am in Ukraine to deliver a simple message.

Our support cannot and will not falter.

To all Ukrainians, Britain is with you – for as long as it takes 🇬🇧🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/1ya8m2seiJ
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 12, 2024

The statement also highlighted that “This will be the largest delivery of drones to Ukraine from any nation. Most of the drones are expected to be manufactured in the UK, and the Ministry of Defense will work with international partners to significantly scale up the number of drones provided for Ukraine’s defense.”

Both Moscow and Kyiv are currently stocking up on their artillery and land-based battle equipment as Russia is speeding up the production of weapons and receiving some artillery shells and missiles from North Korea and drones from Iran, while Ukraine urging its Western partners to increase the weapons supply and release more funds. The battlefield activities are largely stagnant at the moment as winter settles in the region.

Zelenskyy has cautioned that Ukraine specifically requires air defense systems to repel Russian aerial assaults. Recent extensive Russian barrages, with officials in Kyiv reporting over 500 drones and missiles fired between December 29 and January 2, are depleting Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and exposing it to vulnerability.

Sunak-Zelenskyy meeting

During his meeting with the Ukrainian President at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, British Prime Minister Sunak reassured the Ukrainian leadership that “Ukraine will never be alone.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — *^{British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 12, 2024. (Image Credit: Stefan Rousseau/Reuters)}*

Sunak said that “for two years, Ukraine has fought with great courage to repel a brutal Russian invasion. They are still fighting, unfaltering in their determination to defend their country and defend the principles of freedom and democracy.”

Britain is the second-biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the U.S., giving a total of $5.8 billion in 2022 and 2023. “I am here today with one message, the UK will also not falter,” Sunak said. “We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.”

Moscow’s reaction

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, made the comments in response to a visit by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Kyiv to announce an increase in military funding to help Ukraine purchase new military drones.

“I hope that our eternal enemies, the arrogant British, understand that deploying an official military contingent to Ukraine would be a declaration of war against our country,” Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.