UK pledges 100 years of support for Ukraine
- 17 January, 12:05
UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a “historic” 100-partnership with Ukraine and pledged to support Ukraine in “the strongest possible position”.
Speaking during his trip to Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday, Starmer said the agreement reflected the “huge affection between our two nations”, adding that “right now Putin shows no signs of wanting to stop” his “unrelenting aggression”.
"We are with you not just today, for this year or the next - but for 100 years - long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again," the prime minister told Zelenskiy. He added that together with its allies, the UK would work to ensure that any peace deal signed between Russia and Ukraine would be strong enough to "guarantee Ukraine's security" and "deter any future aggression."
Starmer did not comment directly on how his country would respond if the United States would cut military aid to Ukraine after the inauguration of president-elect Trump who has previously criticized the Biden administration for military assistance to Kyiv. “We will continue to work with the US on this today, tomorrow and into the future,” he said.
Zelenskiy has previously asked its European allies, including the UK to send troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping operation after the war with Russia is over. Starmer refused to respond to a reporter’s question whether the UK would deploy troops.
"It's really important that Ukraine is put in the strongest possible position," he said.
