Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a “landmark” 100-year partnership agreement with Ukraine on Thursday during an unannounced visit to the war-torn country, seeking to shore up support for Kyiv before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Loud blasts and air raid sirens rang out over the Ukrainian capital after Starmer’s arrival as air defence systems in central Kyiv repelled a Russian drone attack, officials and AFP journalists reported.

In Starmer’s first official visit to Kyiv since taking office last July, he pledged steadfast support in the face of the Russian invasion, and said any deal to end the fighting must “guarantee” Ukraine’s security and independence.

And he later said that the UK would also discuss with allies deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to help guarantee security following any ceasefire with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the 100-year accord, saying he hoped for similar agreements with other allies.

“Relations between Ukraine and the UK are now closer than ever,” he said in his evening address.

The visit is the latest meeting that Zelensky is holding in a flurry of talks with allies before Trump’s return next week.

The incoming Republican has stoked fears that he will cut Washington’s vital military aid or force Ukraine to accept a ceasefire on terms that reward Russia for its February 2022 invasion.

Starmer said he would “work with all of our allies” to ensure any settlement was “robust enough to guarantee Ukraine’s security, guarantee any possible peace and deter any future aggression”.

Under the agreement, London and Kyiv pledged to “deepen defence cooperation” and boost Ukraine’s defence industry, recognising it as a “future NATO ally”.

Speaking in Kyiv, Starmer hailed it as a “landmark agreement, the very first of its kind, a new partnership between the UK and Ukraine that reflects the huge affection that exists between our two nations”.

- ‘Strongest possible position’ -

Starmer kicked off the visit by laying wreaths with Zelensky to commemorate killed Ukrainian soldiers, and visiting a burns hospital treating wounded servicemen.

Ahead of their meeting, Zelensky said he and Starmer would discuss the possibility of having Western troops stationed in Ukraine to oversee any ceasefire agreement, a divisive proposal initially put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Starmer did not commit to such a deployment, but later on Thursday he told Sky News that he would discuss the possibility with other countries.

“We will be discussing this with a number of allies, including of course President Macron, including President Zelensky here today, and we will play our full part,” he said.

Earlier, when asked if Britain would send a military contingent to the country, he said: “It is really important that Ukraine is put in the strongest possible position.”

The UK has been one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers, pledging £12.8 billion ($16 billion) in military and civilian aid since Russia invaded.

London has committed £3 billion of support every year “for as long as it takes”, and is also providing a £2.2 billion loan backed by profits on frozen Russian assets.

The United States remains by far Ukraine’s biggest financial backer – but that looks set to change when Trump arrives.

His nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Wednesday that the new administration would instead seek “bold diplomacy” to end the war.

“There will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation but also by the Ukrainians,” he said.

Trump has previously vowed to end the war within a day, with his aides speaking of leveraging US assistance to Ukraine to force it into territorial concessions.

Zelensky, who is pushing a “peace through strength” message, said Kyiv was “not considering security guarantees for Ukraine without the United States of America”.

As part of Ukraine’s whirlwind diplomatic effort, Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced Thursday that he had also arrived in Kyiv on an official visit.

In Poland a day earlier, Zelensky had called for the West to buy Kyiv weapons with around $250 billion of unallocated frozen Russian assets.

- ‘Initiative’ -

The visits come at a precarious moment for Ukraine on the battlefield.

Fighting has escalated before Trump’s inauguration on Monday as both sides seek to gain the upper hand ahead of potential negotiations.

At several key points in the northern Kharkiv and eastern Donetsk regions, Russian forces have exploited their advantages in manpower and resources to steadily advance.

Zelensky conceded on Thursday that Russia had the “initiative” in the east of the country, but pointed to Ukraine’s hold of Russian territory in its western Kursk region as a sign of his forces’ potential.

burs/js/bc/st