Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to the United Kingdom on Monday for his first face-to-face meeting with newly installed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The visit underscores London's continued role as a key military and diplomatic backer of Kyiv, even as Burnham signals a more domestically focused agenda than his predecessor.
Burnham, who took office last week after a decisive Labour victory, will use the occasion to reaffirm what his office called an "unwavering support" for Ukraine "both through the war and beyond." The two leaders are expected to visit a naval base and meet with more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel and sailors who have been training in a maritime security and counter-mine exercise called Sea Breeze over the past three weeks. The drills are designed to prepare Ukrainian forces for potential future operations in the Black Sea.
Stone Cloak and a new drone factory
A centrepiece of the meeting will be the announcement that the UK is sharing the intellectual property of its "Stone Cloak" electronic jammers — tablet-sized devices that can interfere with Russian air defence systems. The move will allow Kyiv to mass-produce the jammers domestically for use on the front lines. The UK says it has already gifted thousands of the devices to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
"Stone Cloak is the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries," Burnham said in a statement. "Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering."
Zelenskyy, for his part, said he hoped for a "productive" meeting and highlighted a separate initiative: a plan to build a large drone factory in Britain. "We are ready to share all our experience with the UK. I hope that the UK will do the same," he said, adding that the project would involve new technologies and collaboration with British partners.
The timing of the visit is notable. Burnham, the UK's seventh prime minister in a decade, has made clear that he intends to devote less energy to international affairs than his predecessor, Keir Starmer, and instead focus on implementing widespread domestic reforms — including cutting electricity VAT and capping bus fares as part of a cost-of-living push. His choice of former Labour leader Ed Miliband as foreign secretary suggests that Miliband will become the primary interlocutor with Kyiv on strategic matters going forward.
Burnham also issued a direct warning to Moscow. "Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve," he said. "We will not back down until we achieve a long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine."
The visit comes amid a fluid diplomatic landscape. Zelenskyy recently warned of an imminent Russian missile attack within 48 hours, and there have been reports of a secret meeting in Baku involving former Russian and German officials discussing Ukraine. Meanwhile, the US under President Trump has signalled a renewed push for peace talks, with Zelenskyy and Trump set for a White House meeting in the coming weeks. The UK's continued military support — now augmented by the transfer of jammer IP and a potential drone factory — positions London as a critical European pillar of the pro-Kyiv coalition, even as its prime minister turns his gaze inward.
