The expert pointed to the political nature of the "centennial" agreement between Kiev and London

The agreement between the UK and Ukraine on the "centennial partnership" is political in nature. The document only confirms London's determination to continue supporting Kiev, but it will not be effective without Washington's participation. Alexei Zudin, a political scientist and senior lecturer at the Russian Foreign Ministry's MGIMO, said this in a conversation with Izvestia on January 16.

The relevant document was signed earlier in the day by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expired in May 2024, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who came to Kiev. Following the talks, Starmer said that the UK will always be ready to play a leading role in supporting Ukraine. He also announced the transfer of a new air defense system to Ukraine.

"First of all, this agreement is a political document that characterizes the declared intentions of the current British leadership. As such, it is intended to demonstrate Britain's determination to support in every possible way the Kiev regime. One of the tasks is to strengthen the will and readiness of the Kiev regime to continue its policy of armed struggle with Russia," Zudin commented.

At the same time, he noted that this agreement should not be perceived as the UK's readiness to finance Ukraine without US participation, since Washington's assistance is a basic condition for the West's support of Kiev as a whole. At the same time, the participation of the US side in this process will decrease in the near or medium term, the expert believes.

"Consequently, both the assistance from Britain and the fate of the Kiev regime are in question. European governments have embarked on the path of bilateral agreements with Ukraine, but this format should not mislead: separately and even all together, European countries are not able to provide sufficient assistance to the Kiev regime to preserve its capacity," summarized the interlocutor of the publication.

In his opinion, Britain and France now intend to involve the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Ukraine's affairs in the same way as the team of incumbent US leader Joe Biden was involved. Trump, in turn, will try to get rid of the "dangerous cargo" in the form of Ukraine, as his priorities include the fight with China, Zudin concluded.

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At the same time, earlier in the day, Bloomberg news agency, citing sources, reported that some Ukrainian officials are disappointed with Starmer's lack of support for the country. According to the agency, many representatives of Zelensky's team are wondering why Starmer, who is in power in the UK, has been postponing his trip to Ukraine for more than six months.

Before that, on January 4, The Times reported that Starmer intends to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington after his inauguration to convince the politician to continue supplying arms to Ukraine.

Earlier, on December 24, Japan, together with the UK, sent Ukraine $1 billion in financial aid. In addition, on December 19, it became known that London intended to provide Kiev with a new aid package worth $286m.