LONDON, United Kingdom – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received renewed assurances of British military support on Monday after meeting newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with the two leaders agreeing to deepen defense cooperation through expanded drone production and discussions on strengthening Ukraine’s air and missile defenses.
The meeting aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth Naval Base marked the first visit by a foreign leader since Burnham took office a week ago. Burnham said welcoming Zelenskyy first underscored Britain’s continued commitment to supporting Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“You are the first leader I have welcomed in person since taking office, and that is no accident,” Burnham told Zelenskyy. “It is intended to send a very clear message: we are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honor every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.”
Zelenskyy described relations between the two countries as “stronger than ever.”
Britain Expands Defense Cooperation
Burnham said the talks focused on Ukraine’s need for additional ballistic missile interceptors to protect critical infrastructure, particularly ahead of the winter months when Russia has repeatedly targeted the country’s energy system.
“We’ve taken away some things that we will now follow up with our partners,” Burnham said after the meeting.
Russia has intensified strikes this year against power facilities, gas infrastructure and other strategic sites in an effort to strain Ukraine’s logistics and energy network.
The leaders also discussed expanding joint defense manufacturing. Britain and Ukraine already cooperate on drone development, and Zelenskyy told Sky News before the meeting that he hopes to establish a large drone production facility in Britain.
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Burnham also announced that the United Kingdom would provide Ukraine with the intellectual property for its new Stone Cloak electronic warfare system, designed to interfere with Russian air defense systems and reduce the likelihood of Ukrainian drones being detected.
The two leaders later met more than 200 Ukrainian service members undergoing military training in Britain, including instruction focused on combat readiness and mine-countermeasure operations in the Black Sea.
Meeting Precedes Washington Visit
The meeting came one day before Zelenskyy was expected to travel to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Burnham also said he intends to visit Kyiv in the near future, continuing Britain’s close engagement with Ukraine. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Burnham has become the fifth British prime minister to work directly with Zelenskyy.
Russia and Ukraine Continue Overnight Drone Attacks
Diplomatic engagement continued alongside another night of long-range drone attacks by both sides.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 147 long-range drones overnight, adding that 123 were intercepted or disabled through electronic warfare.
Regional officials said one person was killed and two others injured in Zaporizhzhia after strikes damaged residential buildings. Another person was killed and eight wounded in Balakliia in the Kharkiv region. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said a woman and a six-year-old boy were injured, while homes, infrastructure and a kindergarten sustained damage.
In the Kharkiv region, local official Oleksandr Skoryk said Russian strikes destroyed every gas station along the highway connecting Kharkiv and Poltava, an important logistics route in northeastern Ukraine.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said a drone briefly entered Romanian airspace before returning to Ukraine, prompting the deployment of two F-16 fighter jets. Officials said it was the fourth reported airspace incursion in four days.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 276 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Authorities in Russia’s Rostov region said five people, including a child, were killed after a Ukrainian drone struck an apartment building in Rostov-on-Don.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces targeted an export terminal in the city, setting it on fire, and also struck a drone relay station, a bridge over the Henichesk Strait used for Russian military logistics, and fuel and supply depots in Russian-controlled territory.
Russian officials also said a Ukrainian drone attack injured 12 people, including two children, in the border city of Belgorod.
Iran and Ukraine Exchange Accusations
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Ukraine of striking an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying one sailor was killed.
In a statement posted on X, Araghchi described the reported attack as a violation of the U.N. Charter and said Iran had informed European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the incident “can’t go unanswered.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s long-range operations in the Caspian Sea had achieved “very good results,” including strikes against vessels transporting military cargo linked to Iran as well as a warship.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected Iran’s accusations, arguing that Tehran’s military support for Russia makes it complicit in Moscow’s invasion. He described Iran’s references to the U.N. Charter as “absurd” and accused Tehran of attempting to divert attention from Russian attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea, an issue expected to be discussed at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.
