Volodymyr Zelenskyy will become Andy Burnham’s first overseas visitor as prime minister, in a visit that Burnham said underlined Britain’s “unwavering” backing for Ukraine.
Less than two weeks after Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv for the final foreign visit of his prime ministership, the Ukrainian president will on Monday join Burnham at a naval base where Ukrainian forces have been receiving training.
Zelenskyy was one of the first world leaders Burnham spoke to when he entered No ۱۰ last week, and the prime minister has promised to maintain Starmer’s strong support for the country in pushing back against Russia’s invasion.
On the visit to the base, the pair will speak to Ukrainian and British military personnel who have taken part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a ۱۵-country training deployment based on mine exercises and other maritime operations in the Black Sea.
The second part of this year’s exercise, which took place in Portland, Dorset, finished on Friday and involved more than ۲۰۰ Ukrainian personnel.
Burnham and Zelenskyy are also due to discuss joint projects including Stone Cloak, an electronic jammer for which the UK has shared the intellectual property, allowing Ukraine to use the system immediately.
Thousands of the jammers, each about the size of a tablet computer, have been sent to Ukraine to be fitted to drones, with the aim of stopping Russian air defence systems from tracking and targeting them.
Ukraine is now able to mass produce the devices itself. After being initially used there, the jammers are due to be fitted to new UK weaponry, including cruise missiles.
Burnham, in a comment released by Downing Street before the visit, said: “Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down until we achieve a long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine.
“Stone Cloak is the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries.”
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According to statistics released by No ۱۰, since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February ۲۰۲۲, total UK support for the country has totalled £۲۵bn, including £۱۶bn in military assistance.
Starmer visited Ukraine a number of times, and hosted Zelenskyy regularly. In one of the most telling displays of UK support, after a March ۲۰۲۵ visit to the White House during which the Ukrainian leader was publicly berated by Donald Trump, he then travelled to the UK and met not only Starmer but also King Charles at Sandringham, which is primarily a royal home and rarely used for official events.
During Starmer’s final visit to Ukraine, Zelenskyy presented him with the country’s Order of Freedom, the most prestigious honour that can be given to an overseas national.
During a press conference with Starmer, the Ukrainian president said he hoped to build a strong relationship with Burnham, and to arrange a meeting “as soon as possible”.
