E-Paper
New UK PM Andy Burnham to make visit to Kyiv on Monday: office
New UK PM Andy Burnham to make visit to Kyiv on Monday: office
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Kyiv on Monday on his first international visit since taking office last month, his office said, as Ukraine marks its 35th independence anniversary.
Burnham has vowed to give strong support to Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.
The Labour Party leader's visit comes as he announced that Britain had "agreed that defence firm MBDA can release classified information on UK components for the long-range missile, SCALP, to establish local assembly lines in Ukraine", a statement said.
The missile is the French-produced version of the UK's Storm Shadow, with both using shared French and British technology.
The UK was first to gift Ukraine long-range strike weapons for defensive purposes in 2023, according to the premier's Downing Street office.
It said that the decision to release the classified information would "allow the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile".
"It also complements the major UK effort to rapidly develop low-cost advanced long-range strike weapons for Ukraine through Project Brakestop," it added.
In Kyiv, Burnham will co-chair his first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, which brings together countries supporting Kyiv.
The French presidency confirmed on Friday that the meeting would be held in a "hybrid" format meaning some participants would attend in person while others joined via video conference.
The office of Irish prime minister Micheal Martin indicated that he would participate remotely.
"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," Burnham said in a statement.
Burnham's visit comes weeks after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky visited London.
During that trip, London also announced it would share with Kyiv information on a new battle-tested electronic jamming capability dubbed "Stone Cloak".
When attached to drones, the tablet-sized, military-grade jammers can hinder Russian air defence systems from tracking and targeting such weapons in-flight, Downing Street said.
Britain has been one of Ukraine's strongest backers since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, committing around 25 billion pounds in support, including 16 billion pounds in military aid.
adm/har/sbk
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
