Burnham hands secret missile technology to Ukraine – The Latest

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:10I was watching the ceremony, it was really quite emotional. Burnham's support for Ukraine has been very elevated, very steadfast. This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia. What Burnham has announced is these sort of secret technology will be handed over to Kiev. But also we shouldn't get too carried away because Ukraine has to build a factory. The Kremlin has already said they'll try and destroy it. And I think there's a slightly subtle message to the Trump administration, which frankly has checked out. From The Guardian's Today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Lucy Hov. Andy Burnham is in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital today.

0:49A trip very significant, not least because it's Andy Burnham's first overseas trip as prime minister. Luke Harding, you're our senior international correspondent. The optics of this have been quite extraordinary, haven't they, in terms of what Andy Burnham is witnessing in the Ukrainian capital? Yeah, that's right, Lucy. There's been rather a moving ceremony this morning outside St. Sophia Cathedral, right in the heart of old Kiev. And the cathedral itself is a symbol of Ukraine's statehood. It was built back in the 11th century when Moscow didn't exist. So there's some sort of subtle architectural symbolism going on there.

1:26And more than that, Burnham has joined a whole host of European and other leaders who've congregated for the 35th anniversary celebrations of Ukraine's modern independence. And I was watching so many, it was really quite emotional. I mean, among other things, President Zelensky was giving awards to the relatives of fallen soldiers and they were coming forward, hugging him, sometimes crying, wiping away tears with Burnham just a few metres away. And meanwhile, some of the kit of 21st century warfare was being shown off. So quadcopter drones that dropped bombs, unmanned land vehicles. And I think Burnham's support for Ukraine has been very elevated, very steadfast, very rhetorical.

2:13But now actually, for the first time, he's witnessing the human cost of this terrible war. And of course, it's a long way from his many years as mayor of Manchester. And there were questions in the run up to his premiership about what his views were on foreign policy as someone who doesn't discuss foreign policy very much. So there's a diplomatic significance as well here, isn't there, that he would choose Ukraine as the first place to make an overseas trip? that's right there's definitely a message going to ukraine which is despite the the turmoil in britain i think we can call it turmoil the change of of prime minister from kia starmer remember him to burnham i mean starmer also of course was a big advocate for ukraine um that this partnership strategic partnership will continue and of course both sides last year signed a hundred year sort of agreement contract that the uk support would continue it's a message too to to the uk's European allies, that the Coalition of the Willing, which Burnham is co-chairing today with Macron, President Macron from France, that that absolutely continues.

3:20And I think there's a slightly subtle message to the Trump administration, which frankly has checked out when it comes to backing Ukraine. Donald Trump, as you will remember, one of the first things he did was to cut direct US military support to Ukraine. And the thing that the Ukrainians really need urgently at the moment are Patriot missile interceptors to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles that have been terrorizing Ukrainian cities. And of course, Trump is not giving them. I mean, they're in short supply because of the war in Iran. So I think there's a message there that the UK will pursue its own course, even as the Trump administration really sits by and does almost nothing.

3:57So Andy Burnham is there to make a very specific pledge to Zelensky, isn't he, which is UK blueprints for long-range missiles, which is something that Zelensky has been calling for for a long time and that Ukraine has also been in very great need of. Tell us about what those are and why the timing of this announcement is significant. So we're talking about Storm Shadows, which are manufactured by London and Paris, where they're called Scalp. And these are pretty powerful missiles with a big payload. that can be used to destroy things such as military air bases, ballistic missile launch sites, military command points, and so on.

4:42And Ukraine has been using these really since about 2023, I think. But they've been in short supply. The UK hasn't got very many of them. They're expensive. And now what Burnham has announced is that this sort of blueprint, these sort of secret technology will be handed over to Kiev so Kiev can build its own storm shadows. And I think the other crucial fact is that previously there's been a restriction of about 200 kilometers and how far they might fly. But actually, if Ukraine is making them, they can go further, up to 500 kilometers. So this is significant. But also, we shouldn't get too carried away because Ukraine has to build a factory.

5:19The Kremlin has already said they'll try and destroy it before it's built. So even though the Ukrainians have proved they're really quick and adept at manufacturing, at shortening production cycles. I think no one seriously expects Ukraine will be using its own storm shadow this year, and probably not next year either. So this is very much a long term strategy rather than something that will help with the immediate war effort. But Luke, you were on the show last week talking about Russia's very direct threat to the UK after it emerged that British made drones are being used by Ukraine to hit Russian strategic positions, that combined with this trip and the withdrawal of the Russian ambassador to the UK shows that relations are at a real low point, don't they?

6:08Yeah, I mean, relations between Moscow and London are awful. And there have been for some time. I mean, I think the interesting question now is, will the Russians do anything beyond what they're already doing, which is trying to kind of mess up the UK in many different areas? We get pretty regular threats of nuclear annihilation made by Russian state TV. But I don't expect nuclear missiles to be flying over the channel from Russia anytime soon. But I do think there may be other acts, kind of nefarious acts, which are coming our way. Well, I'm relieved to hear that we're not at risk of full nuclear war at this point.

6:49But nefarious Saks does feel quite worrying and shows how low Russia and UK relations have gone. But what is clear is that there is still huge international support from Zelensky, regardless of the US's position. We have that meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, as you mentioned, which comes at a good moment for Zelensky, who is having a very tough time at home. His former defence minister is calling for elections. Zelensky is refusing them in wartime. But do you think it's likely that there will be elections or that there could be? I don't think so. Actually, most Ukrainians recognise that elections are currently impossible.

7:30There are millions of Ukrainians who fled abroad. There are soldiers fighting on the front line. And meanwhile, Russian ballistic missiles and drones are kind of falling on Kiev and other cities. So practically, it's not possible. Constitution and legally, it's also not possible. But I do think there is a big political challenge to Zelensky. We've seen weeks of demonstrations by protesters who wanted Mikhail Ovederov, the defence minister, as you say, sacked, to be brought back. That's now not going to happen. He's really transitioned into, I think, a fairly significant opponent of Zelensky. But there's a sort of question of dialogue between a president who's been in power since 2019, so quite a long time, and people on the streets who are tired of the war, want Ukraine to win, but also want some kind of political renewal.

8:21And I think that the fact that so many leaders have come into town for the 35th anniversary today will be cheering for Zelensky. I mean, he's very good playing the role of international statesman, handing out awards, smiling, laughing, making jokes. He's really in his element and I think he will probably be feeling this morning that he has kind of weathered the worst, at least for now. Okay. At least for now. Well, Luke, thank you so much as ever for your time. Thank you. That's it for today. My huge thanks again to Luke Harding, The Guardian's senior international correspondent. You can keep up with all his reporting over at theguardian.com.

8:59And in case you hadn't noticed, the Premier League was back in action this weekend. To catch up on all the drama, listen to our sister podcast, Football Weekly with Max Rushton, Barry Glendening and a host of special guests. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Latest. We'll be with you every evening this week while the morning team take a well-earned summer break. But do keep an eye on the morning feed because we are rerunning the fantastic first season of Black Box presented by Michael Safie with season two coming very soon. This episode was produced by Bryony Moore and Rosie Peters

9:40This is The Guardian.