Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position" on a trip to Kyiv where he signed a "landmark" 100-year pact with the war-stricken country. The prime minister's visit on Thursday was at one point marked by loud blasts and air raid sirens after a reported Russian drone attack was intercepted by Ukraine's defense systems. Acknowledging the "hello" from Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would send its own "hello back". An estimated one million people have been killed or wounded in the war so far. As the invasion reaches the end of its third year, Ukraine is losing territory in the east. Zelensky praised the UK's commitment on Thursday, amid wider concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office on Monday, could potentially reduce aid. Zelensky is looking to firm up security guarantees from key allies as there are worries the US — which is Ukraine's biggest financial backer — could start pushing Ukraine to make peace with Russia. Sir Keir said the apparent air raid that greeted him in Kyiv was a "reminder of the daily attacks and the resolve of the Ukrainian people". "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," he told Zelensky in Kyiv. He also said that the UK would work with all its allies to ensure that any deal ending the war would be strong enough to "guarantee Ukraine's security" and "deter any future aggression." Zelensky has previously asked for the UK, as well as other European allies like France, to send troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping operation after the war. Starmer has not said whether the UK would deploy troops — saying only in response to a journalist's question: "It's really important that Ukraine is put in the strongest possible position." The latest pledges build on the £12.8bn the UK has already given to Ukraine and commitments of £3bn every year for "as long as it takes". As well as military support, including the delivery of a new mobile air defence system to be designed in the UK and funded by Denmark, the accord includes economic aid, support for healthcare, and increased military collaboration on maritime security and drone technology. The UK will also continue to train Ukrainian troops. More than 50,000 have been trained on British soil so far. In Kyiv, the two leaders visited a memorial where they laid wreaths in the national colours of the UK and Ukraine. St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is covered in photos of the dead and has become a place of pilgrimage for grieving families to pay tribute. Later, when the leaders met at Kyiv's Mariinsky palace, multiple explosions and air raid sirens were heard. Sir Keir also visited a hospital specialising in treating burns, where he met wounded Ukrainians on a rehabilitation ward supported by the British Red Cross. "If Ukraine falls, so does Europe," an injured civilian who had burns across both hands and arms told the prime minister. Sir Keir said the injuries he saw were "a grim reminder of the heavy price that Ukraine is paying". "One of the consequences of this conflict has been to draw Nato more strongly together," he added. Zelensky has previously said he is looking to the UK for help getting security guarantees to deter future attacks. Joining Nato is near the top of his wish list, but Ukraine also wants its allies to send peacekeepers to the country if fighting does stop, to patrol the current frontline which could become a buffer zone in any peace agreement. Russian forces are gaining ground more quickly than at any time since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, despite Ukrainian strikes on Russia. According to reputable Ukrainian open source material, Russia has cut off a key highway and railway to the south-west of Pokrovsk, a strategically important hub in eastern Ukraine. They have also made big advances in other population centres in the east – Toretsk and Chasiv Yar. Ukraine has already been using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian military facilities far from the border. Thursday's announced partnership, formed of a treaty and a political declaration, is due to be presented to Parliament in the coming weeks. Plans for it began under the previous Conservative government. While this is his first visit as prime minister, Sir Keir visited Ukraine when he was leader of the opposition in 2023, and has hosted Zelensky twice at Downing Street since entering office. — BBC
