Andy Burnham has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the UK is ready to assist Kyiv in its ballistic missile battles with Russia.
The new British Prime Minister told Mr Zelenskyy of his “unwavering support” as the Ukrainian leader arrived in the UK on Monday.
Talks with Mr Burnham took place on an aircraft carrier and were underpinned by an offer of more British drone support for Ukraine. Britain is granting Kyiv access to the Stone Cloak system that jams Russian air defences.
With Mr Zelenskyy set to meet US President Donald Trump this week to discuss the manufacturing of Patriot missile batteries in Ukraine, other allies are looking to capitalise on the development.
Mr Burnham said a supply of anti-ballistic missiles would help Ukrainian forces protect “critical national infrastructure during the winters that can be very harsh in Ukraine”. He added: “So we've talked at length about that issue. We've taken away some things that we will now follow up with our partners overall.
On his arrival in the UK, Mr Zelenskyy said in a social media post: “The key priorities are air defence, maritime security and joint defence production. Over the years of the full-scale war, we have built the strongest relationship in the entire history of co-operation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom.”
The Stone Cloak device is said to stop Russian air-defence systems from tracking and targeting drones.
In the face of Russia’s invasion, Mr Burnham also underlined continued British support for Ukraine under his leadership, officials said.
Total UK support for Ukraine has reached £25 billion ($33.3 billion) since the onset of the war in 2022.
Mr Burnham took over as Prime Minister on July 20 and has vowed there will be no deviation in UK policy over Ukraine.
“It was a very warm meeting, I thought I would get on well with him and I did, we got on very well indeed,” he said after the talks. “And this is going to be a close partnership. We will build this and we will work through the different issues that President Zelenskyy has, many of which we've gone into today.”
