Burnham arrives in Ukraine with plans to hand over UK blueprints for long-range missiles
Summary
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Andy Burnham is in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for his first foreign visit since becoming UK prime minister – see images of his arrival
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As well as chairing his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, the PM is set to hand over blueprints so Ukraine can build its own long-range missiles
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The visit comes on Ukraine’s independence day and after Moscow last week warned of “consequences” over the use of British drones by Ukraine
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Kyiv has recently stepped up long-range attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries
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Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia continued to fire strikes at each other overnight. Two people were killed in south-west Russia due to falling debris, state news agency Tass reports
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Russia’s defence ministry says its forces attacked port infrastructure and vessels in the Odesa region – there’s been no confirmation from Kyiv
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Ukraine is doing an ‘extraordinary job of hitting Russia in the deep,’ says former MI6 chiefpublished at 07:47 BST
Image source, Stefan RousseauThe former head of MI6 says Ukraine is doing an
“extraordinary job of hitting Russia in the deep” and striking the
infrastructure that keeps the Russian military effort going in Ukraine.Richard Moore tells the Today programme on Radio 4 that the
Russian economy is finding it hard to cope with Ukraine’s ability to strike
deep into its territory.He adds that the Ukrainians are holding well on the front
line while Russia is suffering heavy losses.But he says Ukraine is clearly under pressure from Russian
missile strikes on its civilian energy infrastructure.Moore says Britain handing over the blueprints for long-range
missiles is a “very important signal” to give to Ukraine, and adds
that Kyiv has been “extraordinary” in building up its own defence
industry.But he also warns that Ukraine is running short on Patriot
interceptor missiles to intercept Russian strikes.More says more strikes are getting through compared to a few
months ago. -
Burnham welcomed to Ukraine by foreign ministerpublished at 07:36 BST
We’re seeing footage of PM Andy Burnham shaking hands with Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, and some other officials.
If any other live images come in, we’ll bring you them right away.
For now, here’s what we can see:
Image source, UK PoolImage caption, Burnham is welcomed by foreign minister Andrii Sybiha as he arrives in Ukraine
Image source, UK Pool
Image source, UK PoolImage caption, The visit, on Ukraine’s independence day, is Burnham’s first foreign visit since becoming UK PM –
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Zelensky should be asked about corruption, says sacked defence ministerpublished at 07:22 BST
Media caption, Fedorov asked about Ukraine government corruption claims
Away from this morning’s news, one of Volodymyr Zelensky’s former officials gave an interview to the BBC over the weekend.
Sacked defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said over the weekend that President
Zelensky should be asked questions about corruption in his government.Fedorov was fired last month after reportedly falling out
with the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, and has said a money laundering
investigation announced last week meant Zelensky should be asked about his
awareness of potential corruption in his inner circle.But he said he had not himself seen the president engage in
any corrupt activity.Federov also went on to repeat his call that the country
should have elections, adding it was his “moral right” to start the
conversation about it. If elections were never held, he said, “then we are no
longer a democracy”.Zelensky meanwhile said yesterday he believed wartime
elections would currently be too dangerous for Ukraine.“Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that
will split Ukraine,” he added. -
Two killed in south-west Russia as Moscow and Kyiv trade strikespublished at 07:14 BST
Two people have been killed in south-west Russia as Kyiv and
Moscow continued to trade strikes overnight.The Russian retail group, Ozon, says several of its
warehouses in the south-west of the country and the North Caucasus were
targeted by Ukrainian drones.The company says fires broke out at its hubs in Dagestan and
in Krasnodar.The Russian Tass news agency is reporting two people were
killed after drone debris fell on a children’s centre in Krasnodar, citing a
regional governor.Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry says its forces had
attacked port infrastructure and vessels in the Odesa region, which it says
were engaged in delivering supplies to Ukraine’s military.There’s been no confirmation from Kyiv.
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Burnham to meet Zelensky and hand long-range missile blueprints on first foreign trip as UK PMpublished at 07:07 BST
Dan Johnson
Ukraine correspondent, in Kyiv
Image source, EPAImage caption, Burnham and Zelenksy met last month in the UK
Andy Burnham is in Ukraine’s capital today on his first
overseas trip as UK prime minister.The visit marks 35 years of Ukraine’s independence from the
Soviet Union, and he will announce an agreement for Ukraine to start producing
its own models of the British storm shadow cruise missile.The prime minister will also chair his first meeting of the “coalition
of the willing,” the partnership of more than 35 nations backing Ukraine.Burnham will also be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,
almost a month on from their first meeting in Portsmouth.He will say he wants the Ukrainian people to hear directly
from him that British support will not waiver, as long as it takes and that
Russia’s threats against the UK only strengthen that resolve.The long-range missile Burnham is giving Ukraine the
blueprints for is capable of hitting targets around 150 miles (241km) into Russia – not
as far as Ukraine’s deep strike drone capability but it’s a significant step in
showing the willingness of international partners to share weapons technology.And Ukraine hopes for the same with patriot interceptor
missiles, which it desperately needs more of to defend against Russian
ballistic attacks.
Original source: https://www.bbc.com/
