Britain Boosts Ukraine Aid, Signs Security Agreement Promising '100-Year Partnership'

Facts

• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday traveled to Ukraine to meet counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ahead of his arrival, Sunak's office pledged that Britain would increase military aid to Ukraine to £2.5B ($3.19B) for the next financial year — up by £200M ($255M) from the previous two years of spending.¹
• Officials said most of the increased spending would be on British-made drones, adding that when the military package arrives in April, it will result in the largest delivery of drones to Ukraine by any country.²
• The country's defense ministry 'will work with international partners to significantly scale up the number of drones provided for Ukraine's defence,' the government statement added.³
• Meanwhile, Sunak's office also said Britain would sign a 'historic' agreement on security cooperation with Ukraine, stating this would formalize and extend the military support the UK has given to Ukraine. This includes intelligence sharing, cyber security, as well as medical and military training, officials said. It also committed the UK to 'swift and sustained' assistance to Ukraine in the case it was attacked by Russia in a future conflict.¹
• Officials further said this Security Cooperation agreement — the first to come after G7 nations agreed to provide Ukraine with bilateral security assurances last year — would mark 'the first step in developing an unshakeable hundred-year partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom.'¹
• Announcing his visit to Kyiv, Sunak said: 'For two years, Ukraine has fought with great courage to repel a brutal Russian invasion. They are still fighting, unfaltering in their determination to defend their country and defend the principles of freedom and democracy. I am here today with one message: the UK will also not falter. We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.'⁴

Sources: ¹GOV.UK, ²BBC News, ³Reuters and ⁴Guardian.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by GOV.UK. This latest move from the UK demonstrates that it continues to stand strong with Ukraine and will remain unwaveringly at its side. This agreement cements the strong bond between the nations and extends it for many years. It also demonstrates to Russia that Western support for Ukraine is not going away.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by POLITICO. Despite the façade of calm, after nearly two years of war, Ukraine is in serious danger. Not only are billions of dollars of military aid being held up in the EU and the US, Ukraine's mobilization law has reached a stumbling block and is becoming too toxic to handle. Furthermore, Ukraine says it needs 3M additional Ukrainians working in order to generate enough tax to pay the new troops.

Predictions