President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the field of security for 10 years. It will operate until Ukraine joins NATO.
According to the agreement, London will exchange intelligence with Kyiv, help with cyber security, military training and strengthen defense and industrial cooperation. The British government called this agreement historic.
The agreement became the first in the field of security agreements to implement the agreements concluded during the NATO summit in Vilnius between Ukraine, members of the "Big Seven" and other countries.
Sunak also announced the largest package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 2.5 billion pounds. It will include thousands of shells, missiles, training of the Ukrainian military. In particular, 200 million pounds will be allocated for new drones.
"If such guarantees had been achieved in 1991, in particular with Britain, the war would not have started," President Zelensky noted.
Sunak emphasized that this is "the first of the security agreements signed by Ukraine." He stated that Britain was the first to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, tanks, long-range missiles, etc.
- Great Britain consistently supports Ukraine against the background of Russian aggression, providing financial, military and humanitarian aid. According to the House of Commons Library of Great Britain, as of October 2023, the United Kingdom provided Ukraine with military aid worth £4.6 billion (including £2.3 billion from 2022). Among other things, Britain organized a program to train the Ukrainian military, train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter jets, and provides Ukraine with long-range missiles.
- The total military, humanitarian and economic support of Ukraine by Britain, according to the data of the government of the United Kingdom as of the beginning of December 2023, reached £9.3 billion.