# Burnham visits Kyiv to reaffirm UK support for Ukraine

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/burnham-visits-kyiv-to-reaffirm-uk-support-for-ukraine/
- Published: 2026-08-24T12:37:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-24T18:42:56+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC World (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyqypkrzq5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Europe, UK, World

## Key points

- Burnham pledges UK will share Scalp missile blueprints with Ukraine.
- Kremlin condemns move, warns it will target production sites.
- EU releases €6.1bn in military aid amid escalating Russian strikes.

## Summary

Andy Burnham used his first foreign visit as UK prime minister to travel to Kyiv, chairing a "coalition of the willing" meeting and vowing that British support for Ukraine would not waver despite "outrageous threats" from Moscow. The visit centred on a UK decision to hand over blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp missile, a French variant of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, enabling Ukraine to build the long-range weapon domestically. The trip came as Russian strikes on Ukraine escalated, including an attack on a shopping centre on Friday that killed at least 16 people, and drew sharp criticism from the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said sharing the missile blueprints blocked "even the slightest progress" towards peace and claimed Russia's military was already working to locate and destroy any production sites; Burnham countered by asking "who started the fire?" Alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Burnham co-chaired the 34-nation coalition, which pledged to prioritise strengthening Ukraine's air defences and to tighten sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet". The visit also saw the EU release €6.1bn (£5.2bn) in military aid as part of a wider €90bn loan, a new UK-Ukraine military AI data-sharing partnership, and Burnham laying flowers at a military cemetery and receiving an award from President Zelensky marking Ukraine's independence day.

## Coverage

- [BBC World: Burnham visits Kyiv to reaffirm UK support for Ukraine](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyqypkrzq5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [Daily Mail: Ukraine hits major Russian shopping hubs in huge drone attack as Andy Burnham makes first trip to Kyiv](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16075099/Ukraine-Russian-shopping-hubs-drone-attack.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.