UK Shares Scalp Missile Blueprints Amid Escalating Ukraine Support
Prime Minister Burnham's Kyiv visit deepens strategic ties as Russia warns of 'visible reaction' to increased British involvement.
Callum Smith
The UK is sharing blueprints for its Scalp missiles with Ukraine.
The UK reiterated its "unwavering" support for Ukraine during Prime Minister Burnham's recent visit to Kyiv, his inaugural international trip. During the visit, Burnham co-chaired a coalition of the willing meeting and signed an agreement for the Ministry of Defence to access Ukraine's "Avengers" AI database.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited a shopping center destroyed in a Russian attack, interacting with residents. He reportedly played a song on a guitar handed to him by a Ukrainian soldier.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivered speeches outside Kyiv’s St Sofia cathedral. Burnham questioned the conflict's origins, stating, "Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?"
Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?
This increased UK involvement comes as supplies of US-made Patriot interceptor missiles have been diverted to the Middle East. An RAF surveillance aircraft was reportedly spotted over Lithuania and northern Poland near Kaliningrad, further indicating an assertive British posture in the region.
In response to the UK's actions, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated the decision would add 'fuel to the fire' of the conflict. Andrei Fedorov suggested Britain could face 'some visible reaction from Russia'.
There are different discussions how it should look like – it might be so-called technical reaction, maybe some hackers attack from unknown source, not from official level of course. For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc.
Fedorov elaborated, "There are different discussions how it should look like – it might be so-called technical reaction, maybe some hackers attack from unknown source, not from official level of course." He further warned, "For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc."
Russia has reportedly increased ballistic missile strikes, resulting in at least 23 deaths and over 100 injuries in the past three days. Russian attacks also reportedly killed three people near Kharkiv overnight on Sunday.
Russia has since withdrawn its ambassador, Andrey Kelin. Separately, the European Commission has approved a further €6.1bn in financial aid for Ukraine.