Andy Burnham has promised to keep up the pressure on Russia despite Moscow’s “outrageous threats”, on his first official visit to Ukraine as UK prime minister.
Burnham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, set up by the UK and France under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.
He said the coalition was “doing everything we can” while urging the US Congress to “ratchet up” economic pressure on Russia.
The government has agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, a French version of the UK’s Storm Shadow cruise missile – allowing Ukraine to produce the long-range weapon domestically.
Burnham said allies were doing “everything we can” to “dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks” of air defences to protect Ukraine.
“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said, praising the “strength” of the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security but the front line in keeping Europe safe.”
It comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticised the UK’s decision to share the missile blueprints. Peskov said it prevented “even the slightest progress” towards achieving peace.
He told reporters on Monday that the Russian military was already gathering data to locate any missile production sites to destroy them.
“Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime. Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire,” he added.
In response, Burnham said: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
He said the issue of missile interceptors would be the main topic at the coalition of the willing meeting.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov said the UK could face a “semi-military” response in retaliation for sharing military blueprints with Ukraine, but specified this would be “not by Russia, but from unknown sources”.
“Something might happen with enterprises, with factories which are producing drones for Ukraine,” Fedorov said.
Asked if he was OK with a potential attack, he said: “No, I don’t think it’s okay, because the problem is that we are now facing, in front of the danger, that Ukrainian conflict will be beyond Ukrainian borders.”
Burnham has been reaffirming the UK’s backing for Kyiv in the wake of escalating Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks – including one on a shopping centre on Friday that killed at least 16 people.
In a joint statement after the meeting, Burnham and co-chairs French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the group would aim to strength Kyiv’s air defences “as a matter or urgent priority”.
They also condemned Moscow’s “systemic and escalating strikes against Ukraine’s cities, critical infrastructure and civilians” and pledged to “constrain Russia’s war chest through sanctions and actions against the “shadow fleet”.
The Coalition of the Willing is a partnership of 34 countries including Ukraine. Members met on Monday in either Kyiv or by video conference, with a release stating “leaders once again reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine’s independence”.
It came as the European Union said it had released €6.1bn (£5.2bn) in military aid for Ukraine to boost its air defences. The finance is part of a wider €90bn loan from the EU to Ukraine.
The UK and Ukraine have also announced a new military technology partnership giving British experts access to Kyiv’s Avengers AI Labs database.
Downing Street says Ukraine has used sensors and cameras to capture data across the battlefield and it can be used to train AI models “to solve key national security challenges” faced by both countries.
On Monday morning the prime minister laid flowers at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers during a service at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.
He accepted an award from Zelensky on behalf of the British people recognising the UK’s support for Ukraine during an independence day event outside the St Sofia cathedral in Kyiv.
In a speech, Burnham compared Ukraine’s resistance to Russia to the UK’s fight with Nazi Germany, saying: “My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st.”
In a statement issued ahead of the visit, the prime minister said: “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.
“I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.”
He said the friendship Ukraine shared with the UK would “long outlast Russia’s illegal war”, adding: “Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”
Moscow earlier warned of “consequences” over the use of British drones by Ukraine in its recent ramping up of strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.
The government is allowing UK defence company MBDA to declassify information on its components for the Scalp missile, as Ukraine and France aim to establish assembly lines in Ukraine.
Scalp missiles and its UK-produced version, the Storm Shadow, have already been provided to Kyiv by both Britain and France and used to hit military targets inside Russia.
Ukraine hopes it can also be given more Patriot interceptor missiles, with Zelensky again asking for more of the weapon, which are used to combat Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Ukraine has been relying on American supplies of the Patriots, but its stockpiles are running low due to the war in Iran, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks.
The Russian embassy in the UK has accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, saying “the deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.
