The UK and Ukraine have signed an expanded defence pact and an export credit deal for the Ukrainian nuclear energy operator.

A Defence Export Support Treaty, signed last week during a visit to London by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will allow Kyiv to use part of UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) £3.5bn capacity for Ukraine coverage to purchase military goods and services.

The treaty expands on a similar agreement signed in 2021 covering exports to Ukraine’s navy. The text of the document has not been published and it still requires ratification by the UK parliament.

Ukraine’s public procurement laws require a treaty to be in place to access UKEF financing or guarantees for defence purchases, according to a UKEF document.

Separately, the Ukrainian government has announced the signing of a £181mn UKEF-backed loan to help Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator Energoatom pay UK-headquartered supplier Urenco for enriched uranium for the country’s nuclear power plants.

The five-year loan is provided by Barclays and Deutsche Bank and is guaranteed by UKEF, the Ukrainian energy ministry says in a statement.

A UKEF spokesperson says its guarantee “covers new capital for Energoatom by reimbursing previous payments it has fully made for deliveries from Urenco. This supports the Ukrainian energy industry’s relationship with a key UK supplier.”

The energy ministry says the loan will also support a contract for future supplies with Urenco, stretching to 2035.

The UK first said it was intending to strike the deal in August last year, during a visit to Ukraine by the then-energy security secretary Grant Shapps, but it was not signed until recently.

“Cooperation with Great Britain in the nuclear field is of strategic importance for our country,” Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko says in a statement.

“Continuation of long-term cooperation with British partners in this matter not only strengthens our energy independence, but is also important for the future development of the nuclear industry at the global level.”

UKEF says it has total capacity to support up to £3.5bn in exports to Ukraine. In addition to backing a deal last year to supply two ex-Royal Navy minesweepers to the Ukrainian navy, it has also guaranteed a £26.3mn commercial loan for the rebuilding of six bridges damaged by Russia.

Initially curtailing their exposures to Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion, many export credit agencies have since recommenced coverage of exports to the country as a way of supporting its fight against Moscow, with a focus on infrastructure and defence.