MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Burnham picks Kyiv for his first foreign trip as British prime minister

Burnham announced that his government had authorised defence firm MBDA to declassify information on British-made components of the long-range SCALP missile

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv on Monday on his first trip abroad since taking office in July, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. He met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and is due to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and chair his first meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, set up by London and Paris under his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Burnham announced that his government had authorised defence firm MBDA to declassify information on British-made components of the long-range SCALP missile, so that France and Ukraine can establish assembly lines on Ukrainian soil. SCALP is the French-produced version of Britain's Storm Shadow; both use shared technology from the two countries and are built by the same company.

“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,” the prime minister said ahead of the trip. “Ukraine's security is our security.”

The missile weighs 1,300 kilos, measures 5.10 metres and can strike targets some 250 kilometres away, a shorter range than the deep-strike drones Ukraine uses against Russian territory. It is designed for pre-planned, stationary targets and is in service with the British, French and Italian air forces. The United Kingdom was the first country to donate long-range strike weapons to Kyiv, in 2023.

British Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC the release of information was intended to allow Ukraine to defend itself. He said Russian strikes were also hitting shopping centres and housing. Zelensky has requested 360 Patriot interceptor missiles, supplies of which from the United States have been reduced by the conflict with Iran.

The visit follows accusations by Russia's embassy in London that the United Kingdom had deliberately opted for escalation, after the use of British drones in strikes inside Russia came to light, with a warning that the deeper Britain's involvement, the higher the price it would pay. Moscow also confirmed that its ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin, had left his post in recent weeks with no successor named. The Russian mission told the BBC this did not reflect an intention to downgrade bilateral relations.

Exchanges of attacks continued overnight. Russian local authorities reported two children killed and seven injured by debris from a Ukrainian drone that struck a private children's centre, and a fire at a warehouse belonging to the retailer Ozon, the third in three days. Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov reported three people killed in a Russian attack. None of the tolls can be independently verified.