On March 26, 2025, the UK Committee released the “UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership Agreement”.

It is a great honor for us to contribute to this historic milestone in Ukraine’s partnership with the UK. This agreement lays the foundation for future cooperation between the UK and Ukraine, strengthening our resilience and shared commitment to security and stability. As Ukraine continues to fight for its sovereignty, this partnership reaffirms the UK’s steadfast support.

Our co-founder, Hanna Hopko, took a significant part in this agreement and provided her comments:

Hanna Hopko, co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, told us that the Agreement “represents a historic milestone” in the UK-Ukraine relationship, “solidifying bilateral strategic partnership at an unprecedented level for generations to come.” She said that the Agreement was “really important” as a “powerful sign that Ukraine has a strong partnership”.

She also commented that Ukraine’s ability to produce new military technologies is steadily advancing, which presents potential benefits for the UK:

Other witnesses conceded that the resources committed to are significant, but the Agreement could offer some mutual benefits, “potentially significant”, in the areas of future defence and security capabilities and industrial base issues for the UK. For example, Hanna Hopko told us that Ukraine’s capability to produce new military technologies is steadily increasing, and that the UK stands to benefit from this development. However, at present there is insufficient detail in the Agreement and Declaration to allow us to understand how these benefits can be realised.

This report considers the following agreement, laid before Parliament in accordance with section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010:

• One Hundred Year Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ukraine (CP 1277). 

The Agreement puts in place a legally binding framework for future cooperation between the UK and Ukraine. It covers a broad range of areas, from defence and maritime security to trade and investment, outlining key principles to structure their future cooperation. It is accompanied by a Political Declaration offering some more detail as to the types of activities which could take place under the Agreement. 

We support the underlying rationale for the Agreement and welcome the UK’s support for Ukraine. This could contribute to Ukraine’s ability to deter future aggression. However, whilst the title raises expectations, the Agreement is actually expressed in very general terms and is lacking in detail. The Agreement restates the financial commitment of the UK to the Ukraine at least until 2030/31. There is an important interaction between this Agreement and a wider question of security guarantees. Our report focuses on aspects of this Partnership that we feel could deliver for the UK. However, in order for any benefits to be realised, a clear and realistic roadmap will have to be put in place to deliver them. This roadmap is currently lacking.

We welcome the emphasis we heard from the Government on working with Ukrainian counterparts on governance issues and support for the rule of law in Ukraine. We see this work as a vital prerequisite to a mutually beneficial investment and innovation relationship. We ask the Government to provide Parliament with greater detail as to how this work will be facilitated under the auspices of this Partnership. 

The Partnership includes commitments for the UK to continue to support the actions of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the International Criminal Court in pursuit of accountability for crimes committed during the conflict in Ukraine. We recognise the challenges this will present and ask the Government to keep Parliament informed of progress. 

Finally, we note that this Agreement was laid before Parliament in a highly uncertain geopolitical environment. We therefore propose that this Agreement be formally reviewed, in the event that Russia and Ukraine reach a peace settlement. 

We call for a debate on this report due to heightened political interest in the events relating to Ukraine.

You can find the full text of the agreement at the following link.