UK’s Starmer vows to put Ukraine in ‘strongest position’ against Russia
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) welcomes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Kyiv on Jan 16.
PHOTO: AFP
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KYIV - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Jan 16 he would give Ukraine the support it needed to put it in the strongest position to fight Russia in 2025, saying before talks in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelensky: “We mustn’t let up.”
In his first trip to Ukraine since becoming prime minister in July 2024, Mr Starmer was keen to underline Britain’s support for the nation just days before Donald Trump returns to power in the US.
His visit comes two days after German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also travelled to the country, with European leaders weighing what security guarantees they can provide as part of any peace agreement that may be pushed by Trump.
Trump’s return to the White House has drawn concerns that a bid to end Moscow’s war could force Ukraine to cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future.
“It’s very important we ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position,” Mr Starmer said after visiting patients at a Kyiv hospital specialising in treating burns.
“And that’s why I’ve had such intense discussions with President Zelensky over the months that I’ve been prime minister and will again here in Ukraine,” he added.
“We’re a long way into this conflict. We mustn’t let up.”
At the talks on Jan 16 in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said he had spoken to Mr Starmer about Kyiv’s desire for Western peacekeeping troops to be deployed in Ukraine if the war with Russia ended.
Asked if Britain would contribute troops, Mr Starmer said in an interview with Sky News that he had discussed this with Mr Zelensky and other allies and Britain would “play our full part”.
As the war against Russia approaches its three-year mark, Ukraine is on the back foot on the front lines.
Ukrainian forces are suffering from manpower shortages and losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region as Russia’s troops continue their crawling advance there.
As Mr Starmer met officials in Kyiv, a loud explosion was heard from Ukrainian air defence systems shooting down Russian drones.
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Britain has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, with Mr Starmer’s predecessors visiting Kyiv in the early days of their tenure.
It took a little longer for Mr Starmer to make the trip, but he comes armed with a 100-year partnership with Kyiv to deepen security and cultural ties.
The treaty and political declaration aim to boost military cooperation to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov and deter Russian aggression.
The treaty will also cover areas such as energy, critical minerals and green steel production, Mr Starmer’s office said.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Mr Starmer said in a statement.
“Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.”
When asked about the possibility of Britain setting up military bases in Ukraine under the agreement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Jan 17: “Given that Britain is a Nato country, the advancement of its military infrastructure towards our borders is certainly a rather worrying element. In any case, it will be necessary to further analyse what will happen.”
He added that Moscow also took a “negative” view of the prospect of British cooperation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, which he described as Russia’s “internal sea”.
The Azov Sea is bordered by south-west Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Britain has provided £12.8 billion (S$21.3 billion) in support to Ukraine since 2022, a sum dwarfed by Washington’s US$63.5 billion in security assistance, underscoring the importance of Trump’s actions over Ukraine.
The partnership announced on Jan 16, which provides £40 million for Ukraine’s economic recovery, includes extra support around grain verification and trade with Ukraine’s thriving technology sector that has produced battle-ready equipment. REUTERS
