Burnham to Announce New UK Missile Support for Ukraine

Andy Burnham will announce on Monday that Britain will help Ukraine increase its ability to produce long-range missiles, as the prime minister makes his first foreign trip to Kyiv since taking office.

Burnham is due to arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning at a critical point in the war. Kyiv has braced for another round of Russian missile strikes, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces what Ukrainian officials describe as the most sustained internal political challenge of his presidency.

Storm Shadow Information to Be Shared

During the visit, Burnham plans to say the UK will allow the European defence firm MBDA to declassify information about UK-made components of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles. The move is intended to help Ukraine develop its own version of the weapon.

Burnham said the announcement will be made on Ukraine’s Independence Day, which marks 35 years since the country gained independence. In a statement on Sunday night, he said the UK would not waver in its support, adding that Ukraine’s security is tied to Britain’s own.

Assembly Lines In Ukraine Planned

The prime minister will also tell Ukrainian officials that the UK will support France in setting up assembly lines in Ukraine for long-range missiles that French President Emmanuel Macron promised last month.

Macron spoke to Zelenskyy on Saturday, according to the text, to promise separate interceptor missiles that could help counter recent Russian barrages of high-speed strikes on Kyiv.

A British decision to share declassified component information would likely take years to affect the battlefield, but it is expected to raise pressure on London’s already tense relationship with Moscow.

Attack Kills 16; Patriots Uncertainty

European leaders have condemned a drone attack on Friday on a busy shopping centre in central Ukraine. The strike killed 16 people in Zelenskyy’s home town of Kryvyi Rih.

Ukraine’s military has run out of US-made Patriot interceptors, after a shift in US deliveries. Donald Trump, the US president, recently backtracked on an earlier commitment to allow Ukraine to build its own systems, complicating future supply.

Zelenskyy said over the weekend that he still wanted to buy additional Patriot missiles. He said Ukraine was willing to pay rather than receive them as military aid, adding that he had aimed to secure 300 interceptors for a winter package, with the air force asking for 360.

Zelenskyy also said he had reached agreements with France on at least one air-defence system this year and with Germany on the supply of about 600 interceptors in 2027-28.

Macron posted on X that Ukraine needed “all the necessary means” to defend its skies and that countries with relevant capabilities should join the effort.

Coalition Call And Zelenskyy Election Risk

Burnham’s trip will include Independence Day events in Kyiv and an award recognising UK support for Ukraine, with details being kept secret amid concerns about a possible major Russian attack.

The prime minister will also use a meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, a group of 34 countries that have pledged support for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. The call will be co-chaired by Burnham and Macron, with Macron joining remotely by video link, and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, also taking part.

Russia has accused Britain of deliberately escalating the conflict by allowing Ukraine to launch attacks using British-made drones, warning that deeper involvement would increase the “price” Moscow would pay. This weekend, Russia withdrew its ambassador in London without appointing a replacement, prompting speculation it was reducing its diplomatic footprint in the UK.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy is dealing with a major political risk after a call for elections by his former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. Zelenskyy told reporters on Saturday that holding elections, which were suspended when the war began, could split the country, warning that elections during wartime were a major danger.

Join the discussion?

24 August 2026