36m ago
08.10 BST
Morning
opening: Andy Burnham arrives in Ukraine
Hello and
welcome to our live coverage of Europe. I am kicking us off but Jakub Krupa
will be taking over a little later on.
UK prime minister Andy Burnham arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday alongside a
number of European leaders to mark the country’s independence day.
Burnham
was photographed at Kyiv railway station shaking hands with Ukrainian foreign minister
Andrii Sybiha, who said Burnham was to be joined by António Costa, president of
the European Council; Luc Frieden, the prime minister of Luxembourg; Maia
Sandu, the president of Moldova; and Alar Karis, the president of Estonia.
“For
Ukraine, independence is not an abstract idea. We defended it against all odds.
In times like these, nations learn how important it is to have allies by your
side,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X announcing
their arrival.
“And
today, we know for sure who our true friends are.”
Burnham
plans to announce during his visit 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 long-range missiles to help
Ukraine build its own version – a major boost to the country’s capacity in
weapons development at a crucial time in the war.
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