Burnham accelerates UK anti-drone missile deliveries to Ukraine

Zelenskyy to meet Burnham at No 10 amid Trump replacement call

Andy Burnham announced the UK will accelerate deliveries of British Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) to Ukraine, pledging that British support for Kyiv will last “for as long as it takes.” The overnight statement came hours before Burnham hosts Volodymyr Zelenskyy at No 10 and faces Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions.

“Our rock-solid support to Ukraine is vital for keeping us safe here in the UK and ensuring those on the frontlines have the equipment they need to push back Russia,” Burnham said.

“My message to the Ukrainian people could not be clearer, we are with you for as long as it takes, and we will go further and faster in our support to back your courageous fight for peace in Europe,” he said. “It is not just the right thing to do, but it’s the necessary thing to do. Russia’s aggression cannot be allowed to succeed on our continent.”

The statement came after Donald Trump called at the weekend for Zelenskyy to be replaced. Burnham signalled he does not agree. Keir Starmer, Burnham’s predecessor, previously described embracing Zelenskyy outside No 10 within 24 hours of the Ukrainian president’s Oval Office meeting with Trump as an “unequivocal show of UK support for Ukraine.”

Under the new commitment, the UK will “accelerate deliveries of British Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs), which have proven extremely effective against jet-powered drones that are being used to strike far beyond the front lines in Ukraine, including Kyiv and beyond.”

No 10 said the Russian drones “are faster and can fly far higher than propeller-driven Shaheds, making them harder to detect and destroy before they hit targets.”

The UK has already committed £1.6 billion to deliver more than 5,000 LMMs to Ukraine over the next four years. The government will accelerate £10m of the £45m package of missiles announced Wednesday to meet Ukraine’s most urgent winter requirements.

Burnham faces Badenoch at PMQs at noon, and Zelenskyy is due at No 10 in the afternoon. After 12.30pm, MPs will debate a Conservative opposition day motion proposing that the government should not place asylum seekers in a military camp near Piddington and should “withdraw from the European convention on human rights in order to deport illegal migrants.” Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser, gives evidence to the Lords constitution committee on constitutional safeguards at 10.30am, and the energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, gives evidence to the Commons energy committee at 3pm.