British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a high-profile trip to Ukraine on Thursday to sign a security and trade deal with Kyiv. Showing strong backing for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of a possible return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.
Starmer’s visit came hot on the heels of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius’s visit. As European leaders ponder what security assurances they might be able to offer in the event of any peace talks. That might take place under Trump’s administration.
Trump term could pressure Ukraine
There are fears that a second Trump term could pressure Ukraine to cede large swaths of its territory to Russia in a peace agreement. This was Starmer’s first trip to Ukraine since taking office last July. During which he was due to establish a century-long partnership designed to boost both security and cultural ties.
The pact, which is to be submitted to the British Parliament shortly, aims to strengthen military cooperation to enhance security in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and Sea of Azov as well as counter Russian aggression.
The treaty will also cover key areas including energy, critical minerals and green steel production, Starmer’s office said. “Putin’s attempts to isolate Ukraine from its allies have spectacularly backfired,” Starmer said. “The time for us has come; we are more united than ever, and this partnership will extend our friendship to another level,” he concluded.
Something similar is true of the U.K., which has been a close ally of Ukraine, donating £12.8 billion ($16 billion) in aid since Russia invaded in full in 2022, mostly for military and energy infrastructure assistance. But that pales beside the $63.5 billion of security assistance offered by Washington, underscoring the decisive role that Trump’s choices will have on the future of events. Although Trump has publicly expressed hope that the fighting will soon end, his advisers are now acknowledging that a resolution could take months or longer.
