British prime minister Andy Burnham traveled to Kyiv on Monday and will deliver blueprints for long-range missiles to Ukrainian officials during a meeting of the coalition of the willing. The coalition, created under former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, includes the United Kingdom and France and seeks to coordinate support for Ukraine. Burnham said the United Kingdom will continue to back Ukraine for as long as needed and emphasized that its support is enduring.

He will chair the coalition meeting and accept an award recognizing British assistance, and he will attend Ukraine's independence day events. The government has approved declassification of United Kingdom components for the Scalp missile, the French equivalent of the Storm Shadow, allowing defense firm MBDA to share technical data. Burnham noted that Russia has warned of consequences over Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure. Kyiv has increased long-range attacks on Russian targets such as oil refineries and warehouses. The Russian embassy in London accused Britain of deliberately escalating the conflict, while Burnham said the UK remains a steadfast supporter. Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrei Kelin, has left his post, though no replacement has been announced and the embassy said the move does not indicate a downgrade in diplomatic relations.

The visit underscores continued British commitment to Ukraine's defense as the war enters its third year, with no clear timeline for a diplomatic resolution.