UK PM Andy Burnham's First Visit to Ukraine: Pledges to Hit Russia and Provide Scalp Missile Blueprints
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has affirmed his commitment to continue pressuring Russia despite the “terrible threats” issued by Moscow. The statement was made during his first official visit to Ukraine as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
During the visit, Burnham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chaired the first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a coalition of 34 countries formed by the UK and France under his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.
Burnham said the coalition was doing “everything we can”, while urging the United States Congress to increase economic pressure on Russia.
“This is the time to keep pressing Russia, the time to tighten their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham asserted, while praising the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a burden on our security, but the front line in keeping Europe safe,” he added.
As a tangible form of support, the British Government has approved the handover of blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp missile, the French version of the UK’s Storm Shadow cruise missile. The move enables Ukraine to produce the long-range weapons independently at home through defence company MBDA.
In addition to military equipment assistance, the UK and Ukraine announced a new military technology partnership. The cooperation provides British experts with access to Kyiv’s Avengers AI Labs database. Data collected by Ukraine through sensors and cameras on the battlefield will be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models to address the national security challenges of both countries.
Meanwhile, the European Union also announced it has disbursed €6.1 billion (around Rp129 trillion) in military aid from a total loan of €90 billion (around Rp1.9 quadrillion) to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence systems. Air defence has become a crucial issue given that Ukraine’s stock of Patriot interceptor missiles is beginning to run low due to the conflict in Iran.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly condemned Britain’s decision to share the missile blueprints. Peskov said the move hinders progress towards peace and confirmed that the Russian military is gathering data to locate production facilities for destruction.
“Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime. Britain is methodically and regularly pouring fuel on the fire,” Peskov said.
Responding to the accusation, Burnham gave a sharp reply. “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Burnham reiterated that Britain is only helping Ukraine’s self-defence, a position consistent since the era of the previous prime minister. The visit also took place amid heightened diplomatic tensions, after Russia’s Ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, confirmed he had left his post in London in recent weeks.
In Kyiv, Burnham laid flowers at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers at the National Military Memorial Cemetery. He also received an award from President Zelensky on behalf of the British people during the commemoration of Ukraine’s 35th Independence Day in front of St. Sophia’s Cathedral.
In his speech, Burnham compared Ukraine’s resistance to Britain’s struggle against Nazi Germany.
“My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, and you are holding that flame in the 21st century,” he said.
“On the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, the Ukrainian people need not doubt: Britain stands behind you today and for as long as it takes,” Burnham said in his official statement.
This development comes amid deadly attacks that continue from both sides. In Kharkiv, a Russian attack killed three people. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone counter-attack was reported to have set fire to a logistics warehouse belonging to e-commerce company Ozon in Russia, and caused drone debris to fall on a children’s centre in Russia, killing two children and injuring seven others.