LONDON: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to maintain pressure on Russia despite what he described as “outrageous threats” from Moscow during his first official visit to Ukraine since taking office.
Burnham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, an alliance established by the UK and France under his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.
He said the coalition was doing everything possible to support Ukraine and called on the US Congress to increase economic pressure on Russia.
The UK government has agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints for British-made components used in the Scalp missile, the French counterpart of the UK’s Storm Shadow cruise missile. The move will enable Ukraine to manufacture the long-range weapon domestically.
Burnham said Ukraine’s allies were working to strengthen its air defences by drawing on their own stockpiles and encouraging other countries to do the same.
“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said, while praising the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
He described Ukraine as “Europe’s protector”, saying the country was not a burden on European security but was instead at the forefront of efforts to keep Europe safe.
Burnham’s visit came after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticised Britain’s decision to share the missile blueprints with Ukraine. Peskov said the move would prevent even limited progress towards a peace agreement.
Peskov told reporters on Monday that the Russian military was already collecting information to identify missile production facilities in Ukraine and destroy them.
“Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime. Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire,” Peskov said. Responding to the criticism, Burnham asked, “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?” He said the provision of missile interceptors would be the main issue discussed at the coalition of the willing meeting.
(Inputs from BBC)
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