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UK PM Andy Burnham in Kyiv offers missile blueprints on Independence Day

On his first foreign trip, Burnham said Britain is behind Ukraine for as long as it takes and authorised MBDA to share SCALP-component data. Moscow calls it escalation; Burnham asks who started the fire.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham chose Kyiv for his first overseas trip, arriving on Ukraine’s Independence Day and saying the UK is behind the country for as long as it takes. Downing Street authorised defence firm MBDA to declassify information on British-made parts of the Anglo-French SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missile so Ukraine and France can set up local assembly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Britain is adding fuel to the fire and participating in the war; Burnham replied, who started the fire. He co-chaired a Coalition of the Willing meeting and pressed allies to tap air-defence stocks as Ukraine runs short of Patriot interceptors.

Shared facts

Burnham will arrive in Ukraine on Monday 24 August for his first overseas visit as prime minister.

The government agreed MBDA can release classified information on UK SCALP components as Ukraine and France look to set up assembly lines in Ukraine.

Asked if he would ask the US to go further, he said allies need to go further together because Ukraine faces urgent problems.

In Kyiv he will take part in Independence Day events and co-chair his first Coalition of the Willing meeting.

The move will allow France and Ukraine to go ahead with assembling the missile in Ukraine.

Chairing his first coalition meeting, Burnham said the group should dig into air-defence stocks.

Leaders said they would increase military support, strengthen air defence, and share technologies including through an anti-ballistic missile coalition.

Peskov said Britain is involved on Kyiv’s side, adds fuel to the fire, and hatches schemes to block peace.

SCALP is the French-produced version of Storm Shadow, using shared French and British technology.

Burnham hit back by asking who started the fire.

The Kremlin threatened to destroy the factories and accused London of undermining peace.

He said this is the moment to keep pressure on Russia and squeeze its ability to fund the war.

Burnham signed a deal giving the UK access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI lab to collaborate on battlefield technology.

Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for more US-made Patriots as Kyiv’s stocks have diminished.

The missile agreement is unlikely to have a short-term impact on the war.

Ukraine has run short of interceptors as world stocks were diverted to the Middle East after the Iran war.

The Russian embassy had warned that the deeper UK involvement, the higher the price it will pay.

The UK was first to gift Ukraine long-range strike weapons in 2023.

They pledged to constrain Russia’s war chest through sanctions and action against the shadow fleet.

It complements Project Brakestop, the UK effort to develop low-cost long-range strike weapons for Ukraine.

He will tell partners that UK leadership on Ukraine will remain steadfast under his government.

He is expected to be presented with an award on behalf of the British people recognising UK support.

He said Russia should not doubt UK resolve and Britain will not back down until a just and lasting peace.

The Times reported Moscow has withdrawn its London ambassador without appointing a replacement.

Disputed facts

He dismissed Russian threats after Moscow claimed Britain was participating in the war.

The Express said the missiles have a range of around 150 miles and could hit oil refineries and warehouses.

Shared opinions

Foreman said it shows Britain will not be bullied by Russian threats or deterred from supporting Ukraine.

He said Ukraine’s security is Britain’s security.

Burnham said Britain kept the flame of European freedom in the 20th century and Ukraine holds it in the 21st.

He said Ukrainians deserve continued support, gratitude and respect for their stand.

Disputed opinions

None yet.

BBC News

Burnham vows support for Ukraine despite 'outrageous threats' from Russia

Henry Moore and Imogen James

24 Aug 2026

Facts

A shopping-centre strike on Friday killed at least 16 people.

The EU said it had released €6.1bn in military aid for Ukraine’s air defences.

Burnham laid flowers at Ukrainian soldiers’ graves at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Russian regions, including oil refineries and Wildberries warehouses.

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.

Deadly exchanges between Russia and Ukraine continued overnight, with two children killed and seven injured when Ukrainian drone debris hit a private children's centre in Russia, local authorities say.

A warehouse belonging to online retailer Ozon was also set on fire, two days after Ukraine said it would target the company for selling dual use items that could be used by the military.

It was at the third night in the row that Ozon's warehouses had been targeted, with the company confirming on Saturday that a logistics centre in the Samara region had been hit and a warehouse in Orenburg on Sunday.

fact

Burnham said last week Britain is not a fair-weather friend and will be there in Ukraine’s hour of need.

Governor Syniehubov said three people were killed in a Russian attack on Kharkiv.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

The Guardian

Burnham accuses Russia of ‘outrageous threats’ against UK as he visits Kyiv

Jessica Elgot and Dan Sabbagh

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Kyiv said Russia is amassing ballistic missiles and considering mobilising 300,000 more soldiers.

Burnham visited Ukrainian soldiers and joined them playing a Smiths song on electric guitar.

Macron and Merz will attend the coalition meeting by video link.

Independence Day commemoration details were not made public amid fears of a Russian attack.

Burnham travelled to Kyiv with António Costa and Luxembourg’s Luc Frieden.

Zelenskyy faces a challenge after former defence minister Fedorov called for wartime elections.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is facing his biggest internal challenge after his former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for the country to hold elections for the first time since the war began. The Ukrainian president has said any poll risks splitting the country and would be “a tsunami for the state”.

fact

Opinion

No opinion marked.

CNN

Britain’s giving Ukraine access to secret missile technology. Will it make a difference?

Brad Lendon

24 Aug 2026

Facts

MBDA’s SCALP is a long-range deep-strike weapon Ukraine has used against hardened targets, including inside Russia from November 2024.

Made by European arms manufacturer MBDA, SCALP is a conventionally armed, long-range, deep-strike weapon, of which Ukraine has used imported versions with success against hardened targets, including in November 2024, when they were fired at targets inside Russia for the first time.

fact

In 2025 MBDA reactivated production lines shuttered for 15 years.

Trump initially supported Ukraine making Patriot interceptors in-country, then backtracked.

Ukraine has asked for permission to manufacture the Patriot interceptors in the country, an idea US President Donald Trump initially supported in early July but later backtracked on.

The Trump administration has also rebuffed Ukrainian attempts to acquire long-range US Tomahawk cruise missiles, stocks of which have been taxed by the war in Iran.

fact

Macron said the coalition’s first full-scale exercises will be in Poland in October and November with British and French forces.

Macron also confirmed that the first full-scale military exercises of the Coalition of the Willing will be conducted in October and November. They will involve British and French forces and take place in Poland.

attribution · Emmanuel Macron

Opinion

Fire Point has developed the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile.

Ukraine’s domestic missile production has not stood still, however. Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point has developed the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile.

With a range of 3,000 kilometers, it can strike deep inside Russia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month it was used to hit a key Russian rocket electronics facility some 900 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.

The Ukrainian leader said the Flamingo made its combat debut in 2025, and open-source intelligence reports indicate its use has been on the increase this year. Fire Point has also developed long-range drones to go along with shorter range ballistic missiles.

Kyiv’s use of longer-range weapons has turned Russia’s sprawling land mass, once considered a military advantage, into a problem for Moscow as it struggles to allocate limited defensive weaponry to the increasing number of targets within Ukraine’s range, Peter Dickinson, editor of the Atlantic Council’s Ukraine Alert blog, wrote earlier this month.

“A long line of would-be conquerors have invaded Russia only for their armies to swallowed up by the vastness of the country. Ukraine is now attempting to turn this military logic on its head with a strategic bombing campaign that aims to exploit Russia’s immensity and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness,” Dickinson wrote.

fact

POLITICO

Burnham ups the ante in fight against Russia — and leaves Merz in the shade

Esther Webber

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Burnham was the only E3 leader in Kyiv on Monday as he announced a new Anglo-French partnership.

The new British prime minister was the only E3 leader in Kyiv on Monday as he announced a new Anglo-French partnership.

Burnham was allowed to enjoy the limelight as the only E3 leader to attend the session in person, with Macron hosting Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman and Merz attending to a domestic crisis.

fact

Merz had backed Taurus missiles for Ukraine in opposition, then backtracked in office, and skipped Kyiv’s Independence Day.

The missile initiative puts pressure on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had called for German-Swedish Taurus cruise missiles to be given to Ukraine while he was in opposition, only to backtrack after taking office — and who opted out of attending independence day festivities in Kyiv on Monday.

Germany’s Merz is facing fresh criticism of his stance from within his own parliamentary group, from his coalition partner, and from the opposition.

“It’s a clear sign that both countries are no longer waiting for Germany or relying on Germany in this matter,” CDU/CSU foreign policy politician Roderich Kiesewetter told POLITICO.

He added that the British-French initiative was “a call to Germany that, unfortunately, will once again have no effect and also highlights our limited credibility.”

Merz most recently justified his refusal to supply Taurus missiles during a government question session in the Bundestag in March, stating that his support for the idea, expressed while he was in the opposition, had been made “in a different context” — specifically, when Germany had more Taurus missiles for its own defense.

fact

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Daily Express

Andy Burnham risks angering Donald Trump as he makes major Ukraine statement

Michael Knowles

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Trump has repeatedly called on European allies to spend more on defence.

The American President has repeatedly called on European allies to spend more on defence. But the Prime Minister called on Washington to go “further” and provide Kyiv with more weaponry and air defence missiles and ramp up sanctions.

The White House said in late June it expects NATO allies to spend 5% of GDP on defence. Britain is currently spending around 2.3%.

fact

He said there is also a need for financial support and Britain will convene others to share the burden.

“There's also a need for financial support. So, we will do whatever we can to convene people to share that burden together, and we'll continue to provide steadfast support.”

Speaking later on Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed the talks between the coalition of the willing but said “now, we have to deal with a funding gap”, including the option of bringing forward part of the European loan to Ukraine, or unlocking frozen Russian assets.

“The total gap is 27 billion,” he said in a post on X.

“One of the main options is to bring forward part of the European loan funding this year. But we should not give up on other ideas for how to ensure fair protection in this war – a war that Russia started and continues to prolong.”

attribution · Andy Burnham

Lavrov said Russia can treat direct involvement of British missile forces as participation in the war, with consequences.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said his country had a right to regard the “direct involvement of British missile forces” as “participation in the war, with all the ensuring consequences”.

attribution · Sergei Lavrov

The Express said Russia stepped up ballistic strikes, killing at least 23 and wounding more than 100 in three days.

Opinion

Zelensky said Ukraine would not submit and Ukrainians will not be cobblestones under tsars’ feet.

GOV.UK

Britain is 100% behind you: Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Kyiv on Ukrainian Independence Day for first international trip

Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Weeks after hosting Zelenskyy as his first international guest in July, Burnham travelled to Kyiv to reiterate UK support.

The UK said it has been a foremost partner since the invasion, underpinned by a 100 Year Partnership.

The UK has been one of Ukraine’s foremost partners since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing a range of military, economic, and diplomatic support, underpinned by the UK and Ukraine’s 100 Year Partnership.

This includes leading efforts to secure Ukraine’s long-term security alongside France as co-chairs of the Coalition of the Willing, and committing £25 billion in funding, including £16 billion in military assistance and £5.6 billion in non-military support.

fact

Opinion

No opinion marked.