Prime Minister Andy Burnham has travelled to Kyiv for his first foreign visit since taking office, using the trip to restate Britain’s commitment to Ukraine as the country marks its 35th independence day.
Burnham is due to chair his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, a group established by the UK and France under his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. He will also attend independence day events and accept an award on behalf of the British public recognising the UK’s backing for Ukraine.
The visit follows a recent escalation in Russian strikes on Ukraine. A strike on a shopping centre on Friday killed at least 16 people, according to the report.
Before travelling, Burnham said Ukrainians should be assured that British support would continue for as long as needed. He said Ukraine’s security was tied to that of the UK and that the relationship between the two countries would endure beyond what he described as Russia’s illegal war.
Russian warning over reported drone use
The trip also comes after Moscow warned of consequences over the reported use by Ukraine of British drones in attacks on Russian infrastructure. Kyiv has increased long-range strikes on Moscow and other Russian regions, including attacks targeting oil refineries and warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer.
Russia’s embassy in the UK accused Britain of deliberately escalating the crisis and said deeper British involvement would carry a higher cost. Burnham said last week that the UK would continue to stand by Ukraine in its time of need.
Responding separately to the Russian warning, Burnham said Britain was supplying assistance so Ukraine could defend itself, adding that this had been the UK’s position throughout the conflict under previous prime ministers and remained so under his government.
Burnham is also expected to announce that the government has approved the declassification by defence company MBDA of information relating to UK components used in the long-range Scalp missile. Scalp, the French equivalent of the UK’s Storm Shadow, uses shared British and French technology. French President Emmanuel Macron is considering local Scalp missile assembly lines in Ukraine.
The visit coincides with the departure in recent weeks of Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin. The Kremlin has not named a successor, though Russia’s embassy said the departure did not indicate an intention to reduce diplomatic relations with Britain.
Source: BBC News
