PM pledges continued support for Ukraine ahead of Zelensky visit

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Andy Burnham has pledged to maintain the UK’s support for Ukraine before President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Britain on Monday. According to the BBC, Zelensky will be Burnham’s first international visitor since he became prime minister a week earlier, a choice Downing Street described as a sign of the close relationship between the two countries.

The two leaders are due to visit a naval base, where Burnham is expected to announce that the UK will share intellectual property for its new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system. The BBC says the technology, already supplied in large numbers to Ukrainian forces, is a tablet-sized jammer intended to stop drones carrying it from being detected. Downing Street said Ukraine would be able to produce the system at scale, and that the technology is also expected to feed into future UK long-range weapons programmes, including Project Brakestop.

Zelensky and Burnham will also meet more than 200 Ukrainian service personnel who have spent three weeks in the UK taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a maritime exercise focused on warfighting skills and Black Sea counter-mine measures. The BBC notes that Britain has been a consistent backer of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with £25bn committed to Kyiv’s war effort.

The visit follows a call between Burnham and Zelensky shortly after Burnham took office. The report also recalls that former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Kyiv on his final full day as Labour leader, announcing additional funding and receiving Ukraine’s Order of Freedom.