UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is visiting Kyiv on 24 August. It is his first overseas trip since taking office, the BBC reports.
Burnham will chair a meeting of the “coalition of the willing”. He is also due to receive an award on behalf of the British people in recognition of the support the UK is providing to Ukraine, and to take part in Independence Day events.
Burnham will reaffirm the UK’s support for Kyiv amid intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks.
“On the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, the Ukrainian people should have no doubt: the UK is with you today and will be for as long as it takes. I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine, and I want the Ukrainian people to hear directly from me: our support will not waver. Ultimately, Ukraine’s security is our security,” the UK Prime Minister said ahead of the visit.
On the UK government website, it was noted that the Prime Minister’s trip follows permission for defence company MBDA to share classified information about British components for SCALP long-range missiles so that Ukraine can set up assembly lines for them.
“Russia should have no doubt about our resolve. We will not step back until a just and lasting peace is achieved,” Andy Burnham commented.
- Andy Burnham has actively supported Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. On the third day of the invasion, 26 February, he wrote a letter to Ukrainian mayors expressing solidarity. In March, the University of Manchester announced a fundraising drive for emergency medical aid for Ukrainians, and Burnham, who was then Mayor of Greater Manchester, backed it.
- Burnham, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi founded the UNBROKEN Cities Network, the BBC reported.