The new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, is visiting Ukraine today on his first foreign trip since taking office, in what appears to be a clear signal that he intends to continue his predecessors’ policy of strong British support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already visited the United Kingdom on July 27, becoming Prime Minister Burnham’s first international visitor after he took office. The British premier welcomed President Zelensky at Portsmouth Naval Base and pledged that the UK’s support for Ukraine would remain unchanged.
The UK Prime Minister has repeated that commitment ahead of his visit to Kyiv, saying that Britain is behind Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and that “Ukraine’s security is our security.” His government has stressed that Britain’s support for Ukraine will remain steadfast despite the change in leadership.
Foreign leaders and senior officials are gathering in Kyiv for the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24. Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic states gathered in the Ukrainian capital on the eve of the anniversary, while European Council President Antรณnio Costa and other European representatives are also participating in events and meetings connected to the occasion.
Prime Minister Burnham is also due to co-chair a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz via online video conference.
The British Prime Minister is also announcing new support for Ukraine’s domestic missile industry. Britain has agreed to allow European missile manufacturer MBDA to release classified information relating to British-made components used in the Franco-British SCALP cruise missile, the French equivalent of the Storm Shadow. The move is intended to help France and Ukraine establish local assembly lines for the missile.
Premier Burnham’s visit comes as relations between Britain and Russia continue to deteriorate.
Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kelin left his post on July 21 after more than seven years in London, and Moscow has yet to nominate a successor. The Russian Embassy has denied that it intends formally to downgrade diplomatic relations, but the continuing vacancy comes amid an increasingly hostile relationship between the two countries.
In April, the UK expelled a Russian diplomat after Moscow had expelled a British Embassy official and accused him of espionage. London described the Russian accusations as baseless and warned that further action against British diplomatic staff would be treated as an escalation. Russia recently threatened London with “consequences” following reports that British-made drones had been used by Ukraine in long-range attacks against targets inside Russia.
Russian naval activity around Britain has also increased significantly. According to the Royal Navy, the amount of time spent monitoring Russian vessels around UK waters increased by 25% in July compared with the previous year. Ministry of Defence figures also showed a roughly 30% increase in Russian naval activity around Britain over the previous two years.
On July 20, the Russian frigate Neustrashimy conducted a live-firing exercise outside British and French territorial waters while being monitored by the Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tyne. Russian warships have also been increasingly used to escort tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet through waters around Britain.
Another incident occurred in June when the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots ahead of a UK-flagged civilian yacht approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight. The incident took place outside British territorial waters.
Newsroom
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