What's behind the deal between London and Kyiv?
The UK has become the first country in the G7 group to put its promises in writing and commit to long-term military aid for Ukraine in a security agreement. A glance at the commentary sections suggests that both countries may benefit.
A strong model
Political scientist Volodymyr Fessenko stresses the relevance of the document on his Facebook page:
“The special significance of the security agreement with the UK is that it is the first of its kind with one of the countries that have promised us security guarantees. President Zelensky pointed out that this agreement can be seen as a 'basis for similar work with our other partners', and a 'basic document in the implementation of the relevant declaration of the G7 group'. Ukraine's security agreements with different countries will differ from each other, but it is important to set a certain standard.”
The goal is deterrence
The security agreement is aimed at deterring Russia from future attacks, Ukrainska Pravda points out:
“The agreement sets out a procedure to be followed in the event that at some point in the future, after the current war ends - and if Ukraine has not yet joined Nato - a new Russian invasion of Ukraine begins. ... The idea behind this provision is deterrence, because the UK undertakes to provide an even greater range of weapons than Kyiv currently receives, right from the very first days of a possible new war with Russia.”
UK showing the way forward
The British government is demonstrating laudable independence, wPolityce.pl writes:
“Politically, London wanted to show with its initiative that it is capable of independently shaping the future security architecture in Europe. In other words, that Brexit does not mean a weakening of the UK's position and capabilities. For this reason the treaty is not only a document that we could see as a possible model for similar agreements of this kind, it is probably also the most far-reaching.”