Burnham’s support for Ukraine is off to a positive start

Andy Burnham has given precious little away on his approach to foreign and defence policy since taking office last week. Today, however, we got a small glimpse of one aspect of what that might look like. This afternoon Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, became the first foreign leader to be hosted by the new prime minister in Britain. 

The pair met at Portsmouth naval base to inspect the 200-odd Ukrainian soldiers currently completing maritime exercises there. Burnham afterwards confirmed that the pair had also discussed the question of supplying anti-ballistic missiles to Ukraine ahead of the winter to allow it to better protect its critical infrastructure. Earlier this morning, Downing Street announced that it would also be sharing electronic jamming technology known as ‘Stone Cloak’, which will allow Ukrainian drones to slip through Russian air defences.

Burnham and Zelensky’s first in-person meeting was – by all accounts – a success. The Prime Minister described it as ‘very warm’, adding with a grin that ‘I thought that I would get on well with him, and I did. We got on very well indeed.’ This was, he said, going to be a ‘close partnership’. Zelensky, for his part, will no doubt be enjoying the fact that he is finally working with a counterpart who has also decided to eschew the suit and tie most statesmen wear.

Choosing to host Zelensky as the first foreign leader of his premiership was deliberate on Burnham’s part. The Ukrainian president was also one of the first to receive a phone call from Burnham after he entered Downing Street a week ago.

This demonstrates the significance the new prime minister is keen to place on the war in Ukraine – one of the most important security issues threatening Europe at the moment. The political upheaval here in Britain – one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since the start of the war four and a half years ago – unnerved Zelensky’s administration. This gesture by Burnham – Zelensky’s fifth British prime minister, lest we forget – has provided some reassurance that support for Ukraine will remain consistent.

With relation to Britain and Ukraine’s other European allies, Zelensky nevertheless views part of his role as a wartime leader as being to hold their feet to the fire. In an interview with Sky News this afternoon, the president criticised Britain for not having sufficient air defences. ‘I think this is a problem for all of Europe,’ he added.

Burnham may have successfully got off on the right foot with Zelensky today, but there is a long road ahead – both for his premiership and the war in Ukraine. Questions are hanging in the air over how and when the new prime minister will adequately fund Britain’s defences. Burnham, likewise, has given little indication of how he will lead the country’s contributions to alliances such as the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine or partnerships with other continental allies such as France and Germany. A lot is riding on Burnham getting it right.