The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on 24 August 2026, establishing a UK-Ukraine Artificial Intelligence Partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of AI-enabled military capabilities. The declaration, issued by the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street, describes the two leaders as meeting "at a decisive moment for European security" and united in their resolve to shape "the transformation of modern warfare."
The partnership is built around three interlocking pillars. The first is government-to-government collaboration covering co-developed AI models, secure data and compute pathways, and joint assurance. The second involves industry, coordinated through government-to-government arrangements, to develop, test, and deploy AI-enabled capabilities linked to agreed operational problem sets. The third pillar covers academia and research, focusing on autonomy, AI assurance, cyber security, and synthetic data.
The declaration explicitly cites Ukraine's "unrivalled battlefield experience" as a core contribution to the partnership, to be combined with what it describes as the United Kingdom's "technological, industrial and research strength." The stated aim is to build what the two governments call "AI-era armed forces" that their nations and allies will depend on, with NATO interoperability listed among the governing principles.
On implementation, the declaration states that cooperation will proceed on a "pilot-first basis," giving priority to practical cooperation already underway. Further arrangements are to be brought forward "within the next few months." The document also specifies that outputs of the partnership may, by mutual agreement, be extended to trusted allies and partners.
The declaration recalls existing bilateral frameworks, including a 100-Year Partnership Agreement and an Agreement on Security Co-operation between the two nations. Oversight is to be maintained "at the highest political level," with senior defence leads empowered to drive delivery. The document explicitly states that it "reflects shared political intent and does not create legally binding obligations."
The UK and Ukraine are positioning their cooperation as a potential model for others to follow.
Several verified sources, together with artificial intelligence, were used in the preparation of this article. The content was reviewed by our editorial team prior to publication. Disclosure provided in accordance with Article 50 of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act).
