Starmer arrived in Ukraine’s capital with a pledge to help guarantee the country’s security for a century, days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president, writes Euronews.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv, where he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a so-called “100-Year Partnership” treaty. Pledging to help guarantee Ukraine’s security for a century, the treaty covers areas including defence, science, energy and trade.

Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July. He visited the country in 2023 as the opposition leader and has twice held talks with Zelenskyy in 10 Downing Street since becoming prime minister.

Starmer was greeted at Kyiv railway station by the UK ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris and Ukraine’s envoy to London, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The UK is one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers, having pledged 12.8 billion pounds in military and civilian aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

It has also trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Starmer is due to announce another EUR 47.4m for Ukraine’s post-war economic recovery. But the UK’s role is dwarfed by that of the United States, and there is deep uncertainty over the fate of American support for Ukraine once Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.