Burnham to give Zelenskyy long-range missile blueprints on visit to Ukraine

Andy Burnham has agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints for producing long-range missiles as he visits the country on Monday for his first overseas trip since taking office

The prime minister will be in Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, where he will co-chair a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, set up by the UK and France to support Ukraine under his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.

He is set to announce that the government will allow European defence firm MBDA to declassify information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile – the French-produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow.

The “deep precision strike” missiles use shared French and British technology, and Ukraine and France are looking to set up local assembly lines to produce them in Ukraine.

It follows the UK being the first to gift long-range strike weapons to Ukraine in 2023, and will allow the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.

Burnham will arrive on Monday morning, and will also take part in Independence Day events and accept an award on behalf of the British people recognising the UK’s support.

The prime minister’s announcement comes as Moscow recently threatened “consequences” over the reported use of British drones by Ukraine in its recent ramping up of deep strikes into Russia’s mainland.

Burnham said: “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.”

He continued: “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 is also set to chair his first meeting of the coalition of the willing, set up by the UK and France to support Ukraine.

His visit to Kyiv comes after he welcomed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the UK during his first weeks in office.

Last week, Russia accused the UK of deliberately escalating the conflict in relation to the UK-made drones and said the deeper the country’s involvement became, “the higher the price it will pay”.

Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, has left his post in London in recent weeks.

The Kremlin has not yet put forward a replacement candidate and in the meantime, the charge d’affaires has taken the lead, an embassy spokesman told The Times, raising questions about whether Russia is seeking to downgrade its diplomatic relations with the UK.