Burnham to host Zelensky as UK shares drone-jamming technology
Andy Burnham is due to host Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday in his first foreign leader visit since becoming UK prime minister a week ago. The meeting will take place at a British naval base and is being framed by Downing Street as a sign of continued support for Ukraine. The visit also includes talks with military personnel from both countries who have been involved in training Ukrainian service members.
Sponsored
Downing Street said Burnham will use the meeting to underline what it called the "unbreakable bond" between the two countries. The UK leader said Britain stands with Ukraine "shoulder to shoulder" and that Russia should be in no doubt about London's resolve. The office also confirmed that the UK will share the intellectual property behind a new electronic jamming capability called Stone Cloak.
Stone Cloak is described as a battle-tested system used on drones to hinder Russian air defence systems from tracking and targeting them in flight. The UK said thousands of the jammers have already been given to Kyiv, and that the technology could be mass-produced in Ukraine. It added that the system was developed through rapid innovation under the 100-year partnership signed between the two countries in January last year.
The visit comes against the backdrop of more than four years of full-scale war in Ukraine and a continuing effort by Western allies to sustain military support. Downing Street said total UK support for Ukraine has reached £25 billion since Russia's invasion, including £16 billion in direct military assistance. The announcement also links the naval base visit with maritime security work, including a three-week exercise involving about 200 Ukrainian military personnel and sailors preparing for future missions in the Black Sea.
Sponsored
The timing is also significant because Zelensky is due in Washington the following day for talks with US President Donald Trump. That sequence places the UK visit within a wider round of diplomatic engagement over military aid, battlefield technology and long-term security guarantees. It also suggests London wants to signal continuity in its Ukraine policy early in Burnham's premiership.
What remains unclear is whether the visit will produce any further defence or industrial commitments beyond the Stone Cloak arrangement. It is also not yet known whether the naval base meeting will lead to additional training, production or support measures. The main points to watch are the outcome of the talks, any new announcements on drone technology, and whether the UK and Ukraine expand their joint military cooperation further.
Ukraine's president is due to visit a UK naval base on Monday in what will be the first overseas visit by the country's new British prime minister, Andy Burnham. The meeting is being presented as a signal of continued UK backing for Kyiv as Russia's full-scale invasion continues. Burnham is expected to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a site where Ukrainian forces have been receiving training.
According to the supplied material, Burnham spoke to Zelenskyy among the first world leaders after entering No 10 last week. The visit comes less than two weeks after Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv for what was described as the final foreign visit of his premiership. The pair are due to meet British and Ukrainian military personnel who took part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a 15-country maritime training deployment focused on mine exercises and other operations in the Black Sea.
Sponsored
The second part of this year's exercise took place in Portland, Dorset, and finished on Friday. More than 200 Ukrainian personnel were involved, according to the supplied rows. The visit also comes with a new defence-industrial commitment: the UK is to share the intellectual property for Stone Cloak, an electronic jammer used to help protect drones from Russian air defence systems.
Stone Cloak has already been sent to Ukraine in the thousands, with each unit described as being about the size of a tablet computer. The system is used to stop Russian air defence systems from tracking and targeting drones, and Ukraine is now able to mass produce the devices itself. The supplied material says the jammers are later due to be fitted to new UK weaponry, including cruise missiles, which gives the arrangement wider significance for both countries' defence planning.
The visit matters because it combines diplomacy, military training and technology transfer at a time when support for Ukraine remains a central issue in European security. Burnham's comments, released before the visit, said Britain stands with Ukraine "shoulder to shoulder" and would not back down until a long-lasting and just peace is achieved. He also said Stone Cloak was proven on the frontline and would be vital to protecting security in both countries.
What remains unclear from the supplied material is the full scope of any further commitments that may be announced during the visit. It is also not stated whether additional defence or industrial agreements will follow the Stone Cloak arrangement. The main developments to watch are the outcome of the naval base meeting, any new support measures, and whether the visit leads to further joint production or training plans.
#AndyBurnham #VolodymyrZelensky #StoneCloak #Ukraine #UnitedKingdom #navalbase #dronejamming #militarysupport
Sponsored
