The 100-year partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom, which will strengthen relations between the two countries in the fields of security, energy, industry, and culture, was signed by Volodymyr Zhelensky and Kir Starmer during the British Prime Minister’s visit to Kyiv.

“Today is a truly historic day. Relations between Ukraine and Great Britain are closer than ever before. We have reached a new level, this is more than a strategic relationship,” Zelensky said of the 100-year partnership, which will deepen bilateral relations in the defence sector and provide for further military assistance to Kyiv.

About a year ago, the President of Ukraine and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Shunak signed an agreement in Kiev on security cooperation.

The new document formally enshrines the support that Britain will continue to provide to Ukraine, including intelligence sharing, medical and military training, and defence-industrial cooperation.

The relevant treaty and political declaration are aimed at strengthening military cooperation and enhancing security in the Baltic and Azov Seas and deterring Russian aggression. The treaty will also cover areas such as energy, major metals mining, and green steel mining, Kir Starmer’s office said.

Starmer: We will ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position

Britain will give Ukraine the help it needs to be in the strongest possible position fighting Russia in 2025, British Prime Minister Kir Starmer said ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his first visit to Kyiv since taking office in July, wanting to underline his support for Ukraine just days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“We must not relax,” said the British prime minister, who arrived in the Ukrainian capital two days after German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited there, as European capitals consider the security guarantees they can offer Ukraine under a potential peace deal that the Trump administration would seek, a prospect that has raised concerns among Ukraine’s allies that Kyiv will be pressured to cede significant territory to Russia for the foreseeable future.

“It is very important to make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position,” Kir Sturm told reporters after visiting patients at a hospital specializing in burn care.

“And that is why I had such intensive discussions with President Zelensky during my months as prime minister and will have them here in Ukraine. “We are deep in this war. We must not relax.”