Vladimir Putin’s troops have launched a massive overnight drone attack at Ukraine as UK prime minister Keir Starmer visited the country.

Russian forces launched 55 drones at Ukraine overnight, with Kyiv’s airforce able to down around 34 of them over 11 regions across the country.

It comes as Sir Keir slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “monumental failure” during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

The 100-year “historic partnership” signed by the UK and Ukraine will see the flow of more military and economic aid to Kyiv.

It will also include increased military collaboration on maritime security and drone technology, as well as healthcare, Downing Street said.

Technology partnerships in areas such as agri-tech, space and drones will also be included, according to the prime minister’s office.

“From working together on the world stage to breaking down barriers to trade and growth and nurturing cultural links, the mutually beneficial partnership will see the UK and Ukraine advocate for each other to renew, rebuild and reform for generations to come,” No 10 said.

Keir Starmer joining the rush of European leaders to Kyiv to offer support for Ukraine and, in Britain’s case a 100 years of defence cooperation is because the threat is real, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley writes.

Donald Trump has signalled that he’s sympathetic to Vladimir Putin’s reasons for invading the sovereign nation and unsympathetic to its plans to join Nato.

Europe is, too late, waking up to the fact that soon US aid to Ukraine may be strangled off. Under Joe Biden, military aid of about $60 billion helped keep the Russian invaders at bay.

But it was restricted and only recently have the Ukrainians have been able to use what little they have been given to fight off the Russians with attacks inside their enemy’s national borders.

Starmer will sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv covering areas including defence, science, energy and trade on his visit.

The Italian defence chief was also in Kyiv on Thursday, two days after Germany’s defence minister visited and three days after Zelenskyy talked by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.

These visits are intended to reassure Ukraine but also signal to the US that Europe is getting serious about defending Europe, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley writes.

Trump’s recent demand that Nato nations should spend 5 per cent off the Gross Domestic Product on defence is being seen as difficult, but not unreasonable.

There are also signs that the Europeans don’t fully trust Trump in dealing with Russia over Ukraine and fears that he might favour the Kremlin over America’s long term allies.

Britain says its 100-year pledge is part of that assurance and will help ensure that Ukraine is “never again vulnerable to the kind of brutality inflicted on it by Russia”.

This bilateral agreement is intended to offset any decline in multilateral Nato support. The UK will be committed to work with Ukraine in defence, especially in the Black Sea, and drone technology.