Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, January 16, 2025, discover the latest news about this conflict.
Kyiv, London sign 100-year partnership agreement
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a partnership agreement on Thursday that will bind their countries together for the next 100 years, including on security, just days before Donald Trump returns to the White House. “We will work with you and all our allies on measures that are strong enough to ensure the security of Ukraine,” Keir Starmer said at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky. “We will play our full part” in the event of a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, which US President-elect Donald Trump says he can achieve in the coming months.
Keir Starmer’s visit to Kyiv comes two days after that of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, at a time when European leaders are considering what security guarantees they could provide to Ukraine after the war ends. Volodymyr Zelensky said during the press conference that he had discussed the issue of deploying foreign troops with, in addition to Keir Starmer, the leaders of France, Poland and the Baltic States. Donald Trump’s return to the White House has raised concerns that the United States may seek to force Ukraine to comply with most of Moscow’s conditions for ending the war, namely Kyiv’s renunciation of the territories occupied by Russian forces in the east of the country, or any future membership in NATO.
Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a “historic day” after signing with Keir Starmer, who was on his first visit to Ukraine since becoming Prime Minister last July, the partnership “for the next hundred years” between the two countries.
The treaty, which will be submitted to the British Parliament in the coming weeks, aims to strengthen security and military cooperation between London and Kyiv, including to ensure security in the Baltic and Black Seas, in order to deter Russian aggression. The text also covers areas such as energy, critical minerals and the production of “green” steel, said 10, Downing Street. “Mr. (Vladimir) Putin's ambition to alienate Ukraine from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Keir Starmer said in a statement released before his trip to Kyiv.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000However, the British Prime Minister recalled during the press conference that before planning for the post-war period, Kyiv's allies must “ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position” to continue the fight against Russia in 2025. “The conflict is far from over. We must not relax our efforts,” he insisted. Britain has been a major supporter of Ukraine, providing £12.8 billion (around €16 billion) in military and civilian aid since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. However, this is still a far cry from the $63.5 billion in security aid Washington has provided since Russia invaded, underscoring the importance of Trump’s future actions in Ukraine.
Planned ‘acts of terror’ in air transport
Tusk made the remarks in the presence of the president of neighbouring Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Warsaw for a series of talks a few days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. Poland, a member of the EU and NATO, has been one of kyiv’s main allies against the Russian army since the start of the invasion of Ukrainian territory in February 2022.
“Without going into details, I can confirm the well-founded fears that Russia has planned acts of terror in the air, not only against Poland, but also against airlines around the world,” Tusk said during a joint press briefing with his Ukrainian guest. According to him, “the acts of sabotage, the different versions of the war that Russia has declared on the entire civilized world, and not only on Ukraine, make joint action necessary.”
In November, Lithuania made arrests as part of a criminal investigation into the presence of incendiary devices on board planes bound for Western countries.
According to Polish and Lithuanian media, these devices, including electric massagers impregnated with a flammable substance, were sent from Lithuania to the United Kingdom in July and may have been the cause of a truck fire outside Warsaw.
Donald Tusk, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has promised to do everything to “break the deadlock” of the “recent months” in Ukraine's EU integration process.
“We will work with Ukraine and our European partners, without preconditions, to speed up the accession process as much as possible,” he stressed. “The sooner Ukraine is in the EU, the sooner Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, the more we act together, the sooner the whole of Europe will get the geopolitical certainty it needs,” Zelensky insisted.
Ready to strengthen sanctions
The future US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that he was ready to strengthen sanctions against Russia, particularly against the oil sector, if “that is part of Donald Trump's strategy,” during his confirmation hearing before the Senate.
“If I am confirmed and if President Trump asks for it, if that is part of his strategy to end the war in Ukraine, I am totally ready to strengthen sanctions, particularly against the Russian oil sector, at the levels necessary to bring Russia to the negotiating table,” Mr. Bessent told senators.