UK’s Burnham to visit Ukraine with plan to support long-range missile production

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Ukraine on Monday on his first overseas trip since taking office, and will announce British support to help Kyiv improve its domestic production of long-range missiles.

Burnham will be in Ukraine to co-chair a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries backing Ukraine, on Monday, when he is also due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He is set to announce that Britain has agreed to allow European missile manufacturer MBDA to release classified information on British-made components used in the SCALP long-range cruise missile, according to his office.

That will help enable France and Ukraine to establish local assembly lines for the missile, which shares British and French technology, according to Downing Street.

“Ukraine’s security is our security,” Burnham said in a statement, adding that Britain would stand by Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

Britain has been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, providing military support, economic aid and diplomatic backing.

Britain was the first country to announce plans to supply Ukraine with Western-made battle tanks and long-range cruise missiles following the invasion and has pledged more than £25 billion ($34 billion) so far in military and civilian support.

Moscow warned London last week of “consequences” for supplying drones to Kyiv, accusing Britain of deepening its involvement in the war following a report ​that British-made drones had been used for long-range strikes against Russia ​for the first time.

Burnham is expected to use his visit to reassure Ukraine and its allies that Britain would continue to play a leading role in efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s security under his government.

The push to expand Ukraine’s domestic missile production comes as Ukraine increasingly relies on long-range drones and strike weapons to target Russian oil refineries and logistics facilities far behind the front lines.

The visit comes weeks after Zelenskyy traveled to Britain in late July as Burnham’s first international guest, following the Labour leader’s election as prime minister a week earlier.

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆将于周一访问乌克兰，这将是他上任以来的首次海外访问。他将宣布英国将支持基辅提高其远程导弹的国内生产能力。

伯纳姆将于周一前往乌克兰，共同主持所谓的“自愿联盟”（一个支持乌克兰的国家集团）的会议，届时他还将与乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基会面。

据他的办公室透露，他将宣布英国已同意允许欧洲导弹制造商 MBDA 公布有关 SCALP 远程巡航导弹中使用的英国制造部件的机密信息。

据唐宁街称，这将有助于法国和乌克兰建立导弹的本地组装线，该导弹采用了英国和法国的技术。

伯纳姆在一份声明中表示：“乌克兰的安全就是我们的安全”，并补充说，英国将“在乌克兰需要的时候”与乌克兰站在一起。

自俄罗斯2022年全面入侵乌克兰以来，英国一直是乌克兰最坚定的支持者之一，提供了军事支持、经济援助和外交支持。

在乌克兰遭受入侵后，英国是第一个宣布计划向乌克兰提供西方制造的坦克和远程巡航导弹的国家，迄今为止已承诺提供超过 250 亿英镑（340 亿美元）的军事和民事支持。

上周，莫斯科警告伦敦，向基辅提供无人机将面临“后果”，并指责英国加深了其在战争中的介入。此前有报道称，英国制造的无人机首次被用于对俄罗斯进行远程打击。

预计伯纳姆将利用此次访问向乌克兰及其盟友保证，在他的领导下，英国将继续在加强乌克兰安全的努力中发挥领导作用。

乌克兰大力推动扩大其国内导弹生产，与此同时，乌克兰越来越依赖远程无人机和打击武器来打击位于前线后方的俄罗斯炼油厂和后勤设施。

此次访问距离泽连斯基7月下旬访问英国仅几周时间。当时，泽连斯基作为伯纳姆在工党领袖当选首相一周后接待的首位国际客人访问了英国。