Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reaffirmed Britain's long-term commitment to Ukraine, telling President Volodymyr Zelensky that the UK would stand by Kyiv "for as long as it takes" during the Ukrainian leader's visit to Portsmouth.

Zelensky became Burnham's first international visitor since the prime minister entered Downing Street, with Burnham describing the meeting as a clear demonstration of Britain's unwavering support for Ukraine.

Speaking alongside the Ukrainian president at a naval base on Monday, Burnham said: "To put it simply, Volodymyr, I want you to know that we've got your back, you can count on me and you can count on us. You can count on the UK for as long as it takes."

UK pledges continued support

Addressing Zelensky directly, he added: "I am personally with you 100%, Mr President, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full."

Zelensky described ties between the two countries as "stronger than ever", while Burnham said he planned to visit Ukraine soon following what he called a "very warm meeting".

Electronic warfare technology shared

During the visit, Burnham announced that the UK would share the intellectual property behind its new Stone Cloak electronic warfare system, allowing Ukraine to manufacture the technology on a larger scale.

He said the system would improve Ukraine's ability to strike targets while helping to protect Ukrainian lives.

The Stone Cloak jammers, roughly the size of a tablet computer, are designed to prevent drones from being detected. Thousands of the devices have already been supplied to Ukrainian forces by the Ministry of Defence to strengthen drone operations.

Downing Street also confirmed that, following its deployment in Ukraine, the technology will be incorporated into Britain's next generation of long-range weapons. This includes Project Brakestop, a government programme developing low-cost cruise missiles.

Military cooperation and ceasefire call

The two leaders also met more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel who had spent the previous three weeks in the UK taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze.

The training programme is intended to improve maritime combat skills and counter-mine operations in the Black Sea.

Burnham also reiterated Britain's support for securing a "full and unconditional ceasefire" in Ukraine.

He said the UK would continue pressing for a ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations, insisting that Ukraine must be directly involved in any talks and that Europe should also have a strong voice.

Long-term commitment

Britain has maintained its support for Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion four years ago, committing £25 billion to Ukraine's war effort.

Burnham had invited Zelensky to Britain during one of his first phone calls after becoming prime minister last week. Zelensky later said on X that he appreciated Britain's continued support for Ukraine and its people.

Asked whether political leadership changes in Britain and France concerned him, Zelensky acknowledged the uncertainty but stressed that lasting relations between countries mattered more than individual leaders.

"Of course I'm afraid of changes, of course we are afraid because we are in the war each day," he said.

"But again the priority is the relation between nations, not just between just people. I'm sure that these relations will not change, or we have to do our best not to lose such very good relations."

He added that he hoped Ukraine would never lose its close relationship with the UK during or after the war. Burnham replied: "You won't."

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28 July 2026

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4 hours ago, webfact said:

you can count on me and you can count on us. You can count on the UK for as long as it takes."

So in other words not just to the last Ukrainian but to last British citizen too !!!

as predicted absolutely no change of policy just a change of the puppet.

Applying the logic of the comic re attacking Iranian ship means Russia has every right to attack the UK. Right?

Russia has had every right to retaliate for a long time... it's lucky that Putin has been so restrained in the past however it seems he's coming under more and more pressure to bring the war to an end

so things could get ugly..

with Burn-em pledging allegiance

to Ukraine for as long as it takes. Perhaps he will live up to his name and we will all burn !!

1 hour ago, johng said:

Russia has had every right to retaliate for a long time

What right do you claim Russia has for retaliation?

Please describe in detail the incident(s) you will be referencing!

5 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

What right do you claim Russia has for retaliation?

The UK has/is openly supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia

providing money,intelligence ,training and weapon systems, they are part of the proxy

UK/NATO/US war against Russia and as such are legitimate targets.

20 minutes ago, johng said:

The UK has/is openly supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia

providing money,intelligence ,training and weapon systems, they are part of the proxy

UK/NATO/US war against Russia and as such are legitimate targets.

That does not answer my question regarding which particular event during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine you claim is an unprovoked military attack on Russia?

33 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

you claim is an unprovoked military attack on Russia?

I claimed no such thing.

The UK has/is openly supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia

providing money,intelligence ,training and weapon systems, they are part of the proxy

UK/NATO/US war against Russia and as such are legitimate targets.

18 minutes ago, johng said:

I claimed no such thing.

The UK has/is openly supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia

providing money,intelligence ,training and weapon systems, they are part of the proxy

UK/NATO/US war against Russia and as such are legitimate targets.

That does not answer my question regarding which particular event during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine you claim is an unprovoked military attack on Russia?

Edited July 28Jul 28 by scottiejohn

13 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

you claim is an unprovoked military attack on Russia?

When did I claim that ?

9 minutes ago, johng said:

When did I claim that ?

Go bag and read your posts and my questions which you have never answered properly!

I request that you stop being pedantic and answer my questions properly or shut up!

Also it is against forum rules to truncate quoted posts when it alters the meaning!

Edited July 29Jul 29 by scottiejohn

On 7/29/2026 at 7:48 AM, scottiejohn said:

I request that you stop being pedantic and answer my questions properly or shut up!

I request that you read what I said and stop trying to claim I have said something I did not say.

It's perfectly reasonable to quote a short part of a post for brevity which I have done above and what I quoted in no way changes what you have said.

On 7/28/2026 at 5:57 PM, scottiejohn said:

you claim is an unprovoked military attack on Russia?

I have never claimed there was an unprovoked attack on Russia,those are your words not mine.

I have said that Russia has every right to respond to attacks on it by NATO countries

who have been aiding and abetting the Ukraine since the beginning and now seem to have all but declared full on war, it's all spelled out clearly in the original article at the top of the page for everyone to read...well its clear for anyone who can comprehend what is written but it seems some have difficulty with comprehension..