Burnham reaffirms Britain's support for Ukraine on Kyiv visit, hands over long-range missile blueprints

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his first official visit to Ukraine, reaffirming Britain's support for Kyiv as Russian forces intensified attacks and Moscow warned that British assistance to Ukrainian missile production could provoke retaliation.

Burnham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and accepted an award on behalf of the British people, saying Britain's support for Ukraine "will not waver".

During the visit, Britain agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp cruise missile, the French version of Britain's Storm Shadow weapon, allowing Ukraine and France to establish domestic assembly lines in Ukraine, says the BBC.

The UK defence company MBDA will declassify information on the components to facilitate production, according to the government.

Britain and France have supplied the long-range missiles to Ukraine, which has used them to strike military targets inside Russia. The transfer of technical information is intended to help Kyiv build the weapons domestically and reduce its reliance on foreign supplies.

Coalition steps up air defence cooperation

Burnham also chaired his first meeting of the "coalition of the willing", a 34-country partnership established under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz co-chair the grouping.

The coalition said strengthening Ukraine's air defences was an "urgent priority", as Kyiv faces sustained Russian missile and drone attacks and a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.

The meeting coincided with the European Union releasing €6.1 billion ($7.1 billion) in military assistance for air defence as part of a larger €90 billion loan package for Ukraine.

Britain and Ukraine also launched a military technology partnership under which British experts will gain access to Ukraine's "Avengers AI Labs" database. The system uses battlefield sensor and camera data to train artificial intelligence models intended to address national security challenges for both countries.

Burnham is also planning to travel to the United States in September to lobby President Donald Trump on continued support for Ukraine.

Russia warns of retaliation

The Kremlin criticised Britain's decision to share missile-production information with Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move prevented progress towards peace and warned that Russian forces were gathering intelligence to identify and destroy Ukrainian sites involved in domestic missile production.

Peskov accused Britain of "adding fuel to the fire" and said it was directly involved in the conflict. Burnham responded by asking, "Who started the fire?"

Former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov separately warned that Britain could face a "semi-military" response "from unknown sources". He said this could include attacks on factories and enterprises producing drones for Ukraine, potentially widening the conflict beyond Ukrainian territory.

The Russian embassy in London also accused Britain of deliberately escalating the crisis.

The statements came as Russian Ambassador Andrei Kelin left his post in London. Moscow has said his departure does not represent a downgrade in diplomatic relations.

Fighting intensifies

Burnham's visit came as Russian attacks continued across Ukraine. A strike on a shopping mall killed at least 16 people, while another attack on Kharkiv killed three civilians, according to the information provided.

Ukraine has also stepped up long-range strikes inside Russia, targeting oil refineries and warehouses belonging to major Russian online retailers including Wildberries and Ozon.

Kyiv has said some of the companies sell dual-use goods that can be used for military purposes.