Volodymyr Zelensky touched down in the UK on Sunday evening, becoming Andy Burnham’s first international visitor since he became prime minister last Monday. The Ukrainian president will meet Burnham on Monday at a naval base, where the prime minister is expected to announce the sharing of the intellectual property behind the UK’s new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system – a tablet-sized jammer designed to block drone detection that has already been given to Ukrainian forces by the Ministry of Defence. Burnham has pledged to continue “unwavering” support for Ukraine, while No 10 said the meeting “illustrates the strength of the relationship between the two nations”.
Prior to the meeting, Zelensky said the UK and Ukraine had “built the strongest relationship in the history of co-operation”, adding that the key priorities of the trip were air defence, maritime security and joint defence production that “strengthens both countries”. He also said: “We appreciate that we can always count on principled decisions, leadership and support from Britain.” The two leaders will also meet more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel who have spent the last three weeks taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze, aimed at strengthening warfighting capabilities and counter-mine measures in the Black Sea.
“Zelensky arrives in UK as Burnham hosts first foreign leader, signals readiness to confront Trump, and Labour tops polls.”
The visit comes as Burnham, in his first major interview as prime minister, told the BBC he would be prepared to call out Donald Trump “if it is the right thing to do” to defend Britain’s “national interest before anything else”. Burnham said he had had a good first exchange with Trump, finding him to be “really warm”, but when asked twice if he would trust the US president, he did not say yes, answering: “It’s a changing world isn’t it, and you just obviously have to call things as they develop.” He also said he had “concern” about the president starting the conflict with Iran and “wouldn’t hold back from saying what I think is right”. Responding to Burnham’s comments, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Clearly, the US is a long standing ally. We need to have good relations with them but if they do something we disagree with, we should honestly say so.”
Burnham also faced questions on defence spending, refusing to commit to a date for spending 3% of GDP on defence, despite his Chancellor John Healey having resigned from the previous government saying the country would not be safe without such a commitment by 2030. Burnham said: “I appointed my new chancellor very aware of what he had said about the critical importance of defence spending … The first challenge facing us both is to ensure that the defence investment plan is fully funded … we need to work that through as we go towards the budget later this year.”
Meanwhile, Labour has surged ahead in the polls for the first time in 16 months, with just over a quarter of Brits now saying they would vote Labour in a general election, catapulting the party ahead of Reform. But Burnham has insisted he would “rule out” a general election. The combination of a high-profile Ukraine visit, a delicate balancing act with the US, and a sudden poll boost sets the stage for a defining week for the new prime minister.