KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has begun holding consultations with Britain to secure security guarantees and Kyiv aims to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday.

Ukraine is pushing to secure security guarantees from powers including the United States pending what it hopes will be its eventual accession to the Washington-led NATO military alliance.

"Our goal is to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff said in televised comments.

"Our consultations with Britain have begun," he said.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by John Stonestreet)