Burnham
to visit Ukraine with promise of boost for Kyiv’s long-range missiles
PM will
use independence day trip to announce sharing of classified information about
Storm Shadow components
Kiran Stacey in London and Dan Sabbagh in Dnipro
Mon 24 Aug
2026 00.01 BST
Britain will
boost Ukraine’s capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Andy Burnham will
announce on Monday, as he travels to Kyiv for the country’s independence day on
his first foreign visit as prime minister.
Burnham will
arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning at a crucial time in the war,
with Kyiv braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks and the country’s
president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing his most direct domestic challenge.
The UK prime
minister will use the trip to announce that the UK government will allow the
European defence company MBDA to declassify information about UK-made
components of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles to help Ukraine build its own
version.
While the
announcement will probably take years to have an impact on the war, it is
likely to escalate tensions with Moscow at an already fraught moment in
UK-Russian relations.
Burnham said
in a statement on Sunday night: “On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence,
the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for
as long as it takes.
“I am proud
of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian
people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all,
Ukraine’s security is our security.
“The
friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In
both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and
deliver opportunities for people across both our countries.
“Russia
should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a
just and lasting peace.”
Burnham will
announce in Kyiv that the UK will help France set up assembly lines in Ukraine
for long-range missiles, which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised
last month.
Macron spoke
to Zelenskyy on Saturday to promise to deliver separate interceptor missiles,
which could help counter the recent barrage of high-speed Russian missile
attacks on Kyiv.
Meanwhile,
European leaders have condemned Friday’s
drone attack on a busy shopping centre in central Ukraine, which
killed 16 people in Zelenskyy’s home town of Kryvyi Rih.
Rescuers
with a dog work at the site of a Russian drone attack on a shopping centre in
Kryvyi Rih on Saturday. Photograph: Serhii Chalyi/Reuters
The
Ukrainian military has run out of US-made Patriot interceptors, and the US
president, Donald Trump, recently
backtracked on a promise to let Ukraine build its own.
However,
Zelenskyy said over the weekend he still wanted to buy more US-made Patriots,
adding that Ukraine was happy to pay for them rather than receive them as
military aid. “I wanted to secure 300 Patriot missiles for the winter package,”
he said. “The request from our air force is 360.”
He added
that he had reached an agreement with France on at least one air-defence system
this year, and with Germany on the supply of about 600 interceptors in 2027-28.
Macron posted
on X on Saturday: “It is crucial to provide Ukraine with all the
necessary means to defend its skies and thwart this aggression … It is
essential that all countries with capabilities at their disposal also join this
effort.”
The British
announcement is a small step in a much larger and longer-term project that
could lead to Ukraine making its own long-range versions of the Storm Shadow
cruise missile in several years’ time.
But the move
is likely to trigger further criticism from Moscow at a time when tensions
between the UK and Russia are already high.
Last week,
Russia accused
the UK of deliberately escalating the conflict by allowing Ukraine to
launch attacks with British-made drones, warning that the deeper Britain’s
involvement, “the higher the price it will pay”.
This weekend
it emerged that Russia had withdrawn
its ambassador in London without naming a replacement, prompting
speculation it was downgrading its diplomatic presence in the UK.
Burnham has
insisted that Russian threats will not weaken British support for
Ukraine, saying
last week: “We are not fair-weather friends. We will be there in Ukraine’s
hour of need, and that won’t change.”
The prime
minister will on Monday use a meeting of the coalition of the willing, which
comprises 34 countries that have promised to help secure Ukraine in the event
of a peace deal with Russia, to underline that commitment.
Holding
election in wartime would risk destroying Ukraine, says Zelenskyy
The meeting
will be co-chaired by Burnham and Macron, who will join remotely via video
link. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, will also take part in the call as
the leaders discuss ways to help Ukraine repel the recent wave of long-distance
attacks.
While there,
Burnham will attend independence day events, the details of which are being
kept secret amid concerns of a major Russian attack, and receive an award in
recognition of the UK’s support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy is
facing the most concerted internal political challenge of his presidency after
the call for an election by his former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The
Ukrainian president responded to Fedorov’s dramatic announcement for the first
time this weekend, telling reporters on Saturday that holding elections, which
have been suspended since the war began, risked
splitting the country.
“I believe
that if we want to destroy the country, then during such a war we can move in
the selection of elections,” he said in a briefing to selected journalists that
was held on Saturday, but details of which were reported on Sunday.
“I believe
that during such a war, elections in general are big risks. Elections right now
are a tsunami for the state that will split Ukraine,” he added.
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