The Kremlin has warned of an escalation in tensions between the UK and Russia as Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Ukraine to improve its production of long-range missiles.
In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham will give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the exchange would add “fuel to the fire” and scupper any moves towards a peace deal. Burnham will join a conference call while in Kyiv with 34 leaders in the coalition of the willing, countries that have promised to help keep Ukraine secure in the event of a truce with Russia.
Moscow said it would identify and destroy the locations of missile production sites. “Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov told reporters. “Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire, and methodically and regularly hatches schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peaceful settlement process.”
Kyiv was braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks as it marked Independence Day on Monday, attended by other European leaders alongside Burnham.
The prime minister’s decision to declassify the information about the UK-made components of the Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles will enable Ukraine to eventually build its own version, though this may take years.
En route to Kyiv, Burnham said to Ukraine: “The UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes.”
He added: “I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.
“The friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and deliver opportunities for people across both our countries.
“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”
Kyiv has said Russia is amassing more ballistic missiles and considering whether to mobilise an extra 300,000 soldiers. The missiles have been used to bomb Ukrainian infrastructure and warehouses, and to attack the capital, causing increased civilian casualties. There is a shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors, the only weapon that can effectively counter them.
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The UK has also announced it will help France set up assembly lines in Ukraine for long-range missiles, which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised last month. It has also previously announced that it will allow Ukraine to launch attacks with British-made drones, prompting warnings from Moscow that the UK will pay a “high price.”
Russia has withdrawn its ambassador to the UK, with no replacement in sight. The long-serving ambassador, Andrey Kelin, left last month after seven years in post, according to the Russian embassy in London. A spokesperson said that relations had “deteriorated to an unprecedentedly low level entirely on London’s initiative”.
Details of the Independence Day commemorations have not been made public amid fears of a Russian attack.
Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will attend the coalition of the willing meeting by video link. Burnham travelled to Kyiv with the president of the European Council, António Costa, and the prime minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is facing his biggest internal challenge after his former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for the country to hold elections for the first time since the war began. Zelenskyy has said any poll risks splitting the country and would be “a tsunami for the state”.
