AI centre in Kyiv and drones: Zelenskyy to sign new defence agreements in UK
During President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to London on 17 March, the United Kingdom and Ukraine are preparing to sign new agreements on defence cooperation.
Source: UK government, as reported by European Pravda
Details: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to sign an enhanced declaration on security and the defence industry, drawing on Ukraine's battlefield experience and the United Kingdom's industrial base to produce and supply drones and innovative technologies.
Under the agreement, the UK and Ukraine will also explore opportunities to strengthen defence industrial and technological cooperation with third countries.
The UK will additionally fund a new Centre of Excellence in artificial intelligence to be based within Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. The group of experts, supported by £500,000 in funding, will ensure that artificial intelligence is used to its full potential to secure an advantage on the battlefield.
In turn, the United Kingdom will apply the lessons learned to its own defence.
Quote from Starmer: "We must work in lockstep with our partners and allies to deliver security at home and abroad, and this new partnership with Ukraine will do just that. Drones, electronic warfare and rapid battlefield innovation are now central to national and economic security, and that has only been further magnified by the conflict in the Middle East."
Background:
- UK Defence Secretary John Healey said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would visit London on Tuesday 17 March.
- On 18 March, Zelenskyy is set to travel to Spain, where he will meet Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
- The visit is scheduled for the day before a European Council meeting in Brussels on 19-20 March, to which the Ukrainian president has been invited.
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