Zelensky meets Burnham in Portsmouth as UK pledges continued Ukraine support
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Portsmouth and pledged that Britain's support for Ukraine would not change.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Portsmouth, with Zelensky becoming Burnham's first overseas visitor as prime minister. The UK pledged continued support for Ukraine. The meeting took place in Burnham's second week in office and was the latest in a series of visits Zelensky has made to the UK since Russia's full-scale invasion four and a half years ago. It was his fifth meeting with a UK prime minister.
Burnham said the two men got on very well indeed. He promised to stand by every single commitment to Ukraine made by his predecessors and told Zelensky that there would be no change in Britain's support. 'We kind of feel the injustice of what you've had to go through and we just are clear that it's our duty to be with you, to support you,' Burnham said. 'So I'm really pleased that I get this opportunity to say this to you very quickly because we wouldn't want to leave any impression at all that there may be any change because there isn't.'
Little has changed in Russia's approach to the war of late. One Ukrainian man was killed in a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhia that morning.
Zelensky asked for more missile defence systems, many of which are being diverted to the conflict in the Middle East. He was given access to new British technology designed to stop Russian detection of Ukrainian drones. The UK is providing new homegrown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones. It is intended to help them hit targets and save Ukrainian lives.
The two leaders met Ukrainian sailors as they completed a joint training exercise with the Royal Navy. Zelensky made the case for more British defence spending. He said: 'When a country invests in defence and invests in security, cities like Baltimore's local communities, ports and shipyards become stronger and stronger. They grow. They matter more.'
Burnham said he would continue to lead the Coalition of the Willing, a group set up by his predecessor to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. The message from the visit was that although the prime minister had changed, Britain's strong bond with Ukraine would remain the same.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| The UK is providing newly developed domestic jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones. | |
| Zelensky asked for more missile defence systems, many of which are being diverted to the Middle East. | |
| Zelensky met Burnham in Portsmouth, where Burnham pledged to maintain the UK's commitments to Ukraine made by previous governments. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 framed the visit as a test of Andy Burnham's early international leadership and stressed continuity in UK support for Ukraine. It gave prominence to Burnham's promise that there would be no change in policy, while also noting Zelensky's request for more air defence and new UK jamming technology. The broadcast ended its Burnham coverage with a separate note that he had again disavowed briefings about council tax.
- “We kind of feel the injustice of what you've had to go through and we just are clear that it's our duty to be with you, to support you.”
- “We're providing new homegrown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones. It will help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives.”
- “There may have been a change in Prime Minister but the message today was that Britain's strong bond with Ukraine will remain the same.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.