Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London on July 27 as he begins a big week of foreign talks amid a rising civilian death toll from Russian air strikes back home.Zelenskyy will be the first foreign leader hosted by Burnham since he took office one week ago following the resignation of fellow Labour Party member Keir Starmer."Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering," Burnham said ahead of the visit.
"Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down until we achieve long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine," added Burnham, who already spoke with Zelenskyy in a call conducted just hours after assuming office on July 20.The British prime minister’s Downing Street office said the early meeting of the leaders "illustrates the strength of the relationship between the two nations."Burnham and Zelenskyy are scheduled to meet some of the 200 Ukrainian military personnel who have been in Britain the past three weeks participating in a maritime security and counter-mine exercise in preparation for potential future Black Sea missions.'Stone Cloak' SystemDuring that visit, Burnham is expected to announce the sharing of the intellectual property behind Britain’s new "Stone Cloak" electronic warfare system, enabling Ukraine to produce the technology itself.The jammers, the size of a tablet computer, can be used to prevent Russian air defenses from tracking and targeting drones when attached to the projectiles, officials said.Downing Street pointed out that the UK's support for Ukraine has reached 25 billion pounds ($33 billion) since Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022, including 16 billion pounds ($21 billion) in direct military assistance.
