Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain is "with Ukraine 100%" during their first official meeting at a naval base in Portsmouth. Burnham promised to visit Ukraine soon and sought to reassure Kyiv that UK support would not waver under his leadership.
Strong Message of Support
Flanked by Ukrainian and British sailors, Burnham said: "It is intended to send a very clear message. We are with Ukraine 100%. I am personally with you 100%, Mr President. I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full." He added: "To put it simply, Volodymyr, I want you to know that we've got your back, you can count on me and you can count on us. You can count on the UK for as long as it takes."
Zelensky said the relationship with the UK was stronger than ever, and thanked Burnham for his commitment to defence and security.
Reassuring Kyiv
Burnham moved swiftly to calm any nerves in Kyiv over the change in UK leadership, following predecessor Keir Starmer, who was regarded as a stalwart ally. Starmer received Ukraine's Order of Freedom on his final visit. Burnham told Zelensky: "I can imagine people in Ukraine might think 'ok, there's a change in Britain, does that mean there's a change in the way Britain thinks about Ukraine?' I can assure you, and I can assure them – and this goes across the political parties in Britain, it's not one believes and one doesn't – I think the vast majority of people feel the same. We feel the injustice of what you've had to go through."
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Burnham described the meeting as "very warm" and said he intended to visit Ukraine soon.
Military Exercises and New Pact
During the visit, the two leaders met more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a maritime security and counter-mine exercise preparing for future Black Sea missions. Burnham also announced a pact allowing Ukraine to mass-produce UK-designed "Stone Cloak" signal jammers, a tablet-sized electronic warfare system that blocks detection of drones by Russian air defences.
