KIEV

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Kiev on Thursday on an unannounced visit to sign a “100-year accord” and shore up support for Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

It was Starmer’s first official visit to Kiev since taking office in July, and came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a flurry of meetings with his country’s allies ahead of Trump’s return next week.

Starmer was greeted at Kiev railway station by U.K. ambassador to Ukraine Martin Harris.

The prime minister signed a “landmark 100-year partnership to deepen security ties” between the U.K. and Ukraine and meet with Zelensky, Downing Street said in a statement.

“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Starmer said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

“Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level,” he said of the accord.

The deal commits the two sides to cooperate on defense and battlefield technology, such as drones, while implementing a system to help locate grain from occupied parts of Ukraine exported by Russia.

“This is not just about the here and now, it is also about an investment in our two countries for the next century, bringing together technology development, scientific advances and cultural exchanges, and harnessing the phenomenal innovation shown by Ukraine in recent years for generations to come,” added Starmer.

He also announced an extra 40 million pounds to aid Ukraine’s post-war economic recovery.

The U.K. has been one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers, pledging $16 billion in military and civilian aid since Russia invaded three years ago.

The U.S. remains by far Ukraine’s biggest financial backer, but that looks set to change when Trump arrives.