UK to deliver new mobile air defence system to Ukraine, Starmer says
In 2025, the UK will give more support to Ukraine than ever before, Keir Starmer says, adding that Britain will be delivering a new mobile air defence system to Ukraine, which will be designed by Britain and funded by Denmark. The defence system would be “developed to meet Ukraine’s needs, the British prime minister said. He also said the UK will continue to train Ukrainian troops (over 50,000 have already been trained on British soil since the start of the war three years ago).
Key events
Details on the 100-year partnership pact with Ukraine just signed by British PM
The so-called 100-year partnership between the UK and Ukraine – just signed by Starmer – includes commitments to strengthening defence and scientific collaboration, promoting closer community links and bolstering military collaboration on maritime security, among many other things.
The document, published by Ukraine’s Presidential Office, includes 10 main points:
-
Strengthening defence capabilities
-
Supporting Ukraine’s Nato aspirations
-
Maritime security partnership
-
Trade cooperation
-
Energy cooperation
-
Justice and accountability cooperation
-
Jointly countering foreign information manipulation and interference
-
Science and technology cooperation
-
Harnessing socio-cultural ties
-
Migration cooperation
Downing Street said in a press release:
-
The treaty will bolster military collaboration on maritime security through a new framework to strengthen Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Azov Sea security and deter ongoing Russian aggression
-
Will bring together experts to advance scientific and technology partnerships, in areas such as healthcare and disease, agri-tech, space and drones, and build lifelong friendships through classroom projects
-
New UK-built Grain Verification Scheme will also be launched to track stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian territories
Keir Starmer said earlier on in the press conference that Britain will provide Ukraine with 150 artillery barrels “made by Sheffield forgemasters”.
“We have already committed £3bn for military aid this year and we’re going further to support the front line, providing a £2.2bn loan which will be paid back not by Ukraine, but from the interest on frozen Russian assets,” the British prime minister said.
“We’re also galvanising British industry, so today I’m pleased to announce that we’re providing 150 artillery barrels for Ukraine made by Sheffield forgemasters.”
Starmer said it is “the first time in over 20 years that these barrels were produced in the United Kingdom and they will start arriving in Ukraine in just a few weeks’ time”.
Starmer says the US’s role is “vital” and pays tribute to the Biden administration for helping Ukrainian troops fend off Russian aggression over the course of the war.
He said Ukraine has achieved “incredible success” in the face of attacks from Moscow, saying this is down to Ukrainian “resolve” and [military] assistance from its allies.
The US has given Ukraine more than $65bn in aid since the war began, and has provided critical military equipment, including air defence systems and munitions, and anti-aircraft missiles.
Starmer reiterates that it is vital that Ukraine is put in the strongest “possible position” in 2025 (ahead of possible peace talks). He said Britain will play a “leading part” when it comes to guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, without giving away any specifics.
Starmer insists that any ‘lasting peace’ must guarantee Ukrainian security and independence
Moving on to how the war may end, Starmer says any “lasting peace” must guarantee Ukrainian security, independence and Ukraine’s right to “choose its own future”.
“We will work with you and with all of our allies on steps that will be robust enough to guarantee Ukraine’s security, guarantee any possible peace and deter any future aggression. That conversation will continue in the months ahead,” the UK prime minister said in the press conference.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that he thinks European security guarantees will be insufficient, as “real guarantees” are from Nato, which is dependent (along with European countries) on decisions taken by US.
US president-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn back into office on Monday, has frequently repeated his promise to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a swift conclusion, without specifying how. Trump has repeatedly expressed scepticism about US military and financial support for Kyiv.
Starmer said the 100-year partnership, which would formalise economic and military support already pledged to the country, is recognition of the “deep bonds” Britain and the Ukraine share, and is a commitment to deepen them further. Starmer says business, tech, innovation and culture are among the areas that will be strengthened, as well as military ties.
UK to deliver new mobile air defence system to Ukraine, Starmer says
In 2025, the UK will give more support to Ukraine than ever before, Keir Starmer says, adding that Britain will be delivering a new mobile air defence system to Ukraine, which will be designed by Britain and funded by Denmark. The defence system would be “developed to meet Ukraine’s needs, the British prime minister said. He also said the UK will continue to train Ukrainian troops (over 50,000 have already been trained on British soil since the start of the war three years ago).
Keir Starmer holds press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Keir Starmer has been holding a press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has signed a 100-year partnership agreement to deepen security ties and strengthen the relationship between the Ukraine and the UK. “Together we signed a landmark agreement, the very first of its kind, a new partnership between the UK and Ukraine that reflects the huge affection that exists between our two nations,” Starmer told reporters in Kyiv.
The British prime minister, who has been visiting Kyiv today, said the UK will be with Ukraine long after this “terrible war” is over and when the country is “free and thriving once again”.
He said Russian president Vladimir Putin shows no “stomach” for wanting peace, pointing to recent Russian attacks, including the ones launched on Thursday. He praises the “resolve” of Ukrainian people in the face of “relentless” Russian aggression.
Ukraine says it hit Russian oil depot in Voronezh region used by military
Ukraine’s military said it hit a Russian oil depot in the Voronezh region of Russia overnight, with a fire being sparked after at least three drones hit a target. Voronezh is located approximately 465 kilometers (289 miles) south of Moscow. Ukraine’s general staff said on Telegram that the depot stored fuel used by the Russian military. “A large-scale fire broke out at the facility,” the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Kherson regional state military administration has said two people have been injured in Russian drone attacks on Kherson, and its suburbs, in southern Ukraine. The region – which has frequently been targeted by Moscow over the war – straddles the strategically significant Dnipro river. From their positions on the east bank, Russian soldiers have been shelling the city of Kherson and the surrounding villages, killing many civilians.
In a post on Facebook, the regional state administration wrote:
Russians continue to attack Kherson and its suburbs with UAVs. At approximately 09:40, a 62-year-old man suffered an explosive injury and a leg wound due to the dropping of explosives from a UAV in Kindiyka.
At around 10:30 am, a 68-year-old woman was injured in a drone attack in the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson. She was previously reported to have suffered an explosive injury. Both victims were hospitalised in moderate condition.
Jennifer Rankin
Poland has hailed a breakthrough in a painful historical dispute with Ukraine, after it said its neighbour had agreed to allow exhumations of Polish citizens massacred by Ukrainian nationalists in the second world war.
Warsaw is one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in the EU, offering military and diplomatic support, but for years ties have been strained over a historical atrocity – the massacre of as many as 100,000 Poles by Ukrainian nationalists between 1943 and 1945.
After a meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Warsaw on Wednesday, Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said the two countries were finding “a common language and methods of joint action on the Volhynia massacre and “sensitive dramatic issues in our history”.
“They require empathy from Ukraine towards Poland and from Poland towards Ukraine,” Tusk told reporters.
The Polish government has said Ukraine has agreed to the exhumation of remains of the first victims to take place, to enable Polish families to bury their relatives with dignity.
The mutual understanding and action “deserves to be seen as a breakthrough” Tusk said.
You can read the full story here:
Kremlin rejects Polish claim it planned airline attacks
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said yesterday that Russia planned to conduct “acts of terrorism in the air”, by plotting a wave of fire bomb attacks that could have brought down planes mid-flight around the world (you can read more about this here).
Tusk seemed to be referring to parcels which exploded at logistics depots in Europe which Western security officials suggested were part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the US.
“The latest information can confirm the validity of fears that Russia was planning acts of terrorism in the air not only against Poland,” Tusk told a news conference in Warsaw after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though he did not offer more detail or explanation. The Kremlin has dismissed Tusk’s allegation.
“These are absolutely unsubstantiated allegations against Russia,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Tusk’s statement today. “Poland is well known for making such accusations.”