On 12 January, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a security agreement for 10 years with the possibility of extension, Yevropeyska Pravda reports.
The parties signed an "Agreement on Security Cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The document was signed after talks at the Mariyinskyy Palace in Kyiv.
This agreement is the first among security agreements following up on the decisions made at the NATO Summit in Vilnius in 2023.
According to the document, the UK's security commitments will remain in force until Ukraine joins NATO, Zelenskyy said. However, if our country joins the Alliance before the end of the term, the security commitments will end and we will be included in the NATO system.
"If such guarantees had been reached in 1991, in particular with Britain, the war would not have started," he said.
Sunak added that this is "the first of the security assurances signed by Ukraine".
According to Sunak, the security agreement "formalises the security arrangements that we have now". The document also guarantees that this support is long-term, so that "Russia understands that we remain with Ukraine".
"In the event that Russia attacks again, we will provide the support that Ukraine needs, fast and reliable security support, modern weapons (for defence) on land, sea and sky, economic support, and sanctions that will have a price for Russia. There is a clear and important commitment to this," he said.
Zelenskyy added that the agreement provides time for consultations with partners in case of a repeat of Russian aggression.
"This is a formalised commitment of our partners. If there is a recurrence of the Russian Federation's aggression, there is an appropriate time during which we consult with our partners in accordance with this agreement," Zelenskyy said.
He added that Ukraine will "understand the amount of assistance we will need in the event of a new Russian attack."