Burnham hands Storm Shadow blueprints to Ukraine

 Andy Burnham will hand Ukraine secret blueprints for Storm Shadow missiles on his first visit to the country as Prime Minister.

He has agreed to release classified information on British components so that Kyiv can manufacture the long-range weapon for use in its war against Russia.

The latest show of support will be announced on Monday as Mr Burnham and other world leaders travel to the Ukrainian capital to mark the 35th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.

The Prime Minister will meet Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and chair a meeting of the “coalition of the willing”.

“On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt – the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes,” Mr Burnham will say.

“I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine, and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.

“The friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and deliver opportunities for people across both our countries.

“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”

France agreed to hand over the blueprints for its Scalp-EG – the export name for Storm Shadow missiles – to Ukraine as part of a wider defence deal struck in July.

However, Ukraine’s ability to manufacture the missile domestically hinged on a British decision to allow the European missile maker MBDA to release sensitive information on UK-made components.

The British and French militaries gave the Ukrainians a limited number of Storm Shadow and Scalp-EG missiles, which have a range of around 150 miles and feature bunker-busting warheads.

The air-launched weapons have proven vital in Ukrainian strikes on heavily-fortified and hard to reach targets deep behind the frontlines, both on occupied territory and the Russian mainland.

Notably, Storm Shadows were used in separate strikes on Sevastopol, the Crimean port city, targeting the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a submarine in September 2023.

They were first used on the Russian mainland a year later after Joe Biden, the former US president, lifted a Western veto on cross-border strikes using powerful missiles. The Trump administration reinstated the block, but lifted it again in October 2025.

The British-French missile relies on classified US targeting data to ensure it can hug terrain en route to the target.

It is not clear whether Washington would sign off and provide data for every strike Ukraine plans with domestically built Scalp-EG/Storm Shadow.

There is also no guarantee Ukraine would be able to begin manufacturing Scalp-EG/Storm Shadow immediately given the difficulties it will face setting up complex production lines

Mr Zelensky has been pushing for the production of Western weapons systems inside Ukraine to boost and accelerate deliveries to Kyiv’s armed forces.

The British and French decisions to trust Ukraine with sensitive blueprints could convince other Western allies to follow suit.

Donald Trump had promised Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot surface-to-air interceptor missiles, which it desperately needs to defend against incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

But the process has been delayed over fears the technology could fall into Russian hands, with the US president appearing to backtrack on the promise in July.

Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had requested 360 Patriot missiles from allies, but hoped to receive 300.

Russia has significantly stepped up its deadly long-range attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities amid shortages of the US-made interceptors, which is the only reliable weapon for shooting down ballistic missiles.

The Ukrainian president said the supply of interceptors and a $27bn (£19.8bn) financial blackhole faced by his ministry of defence were the country’s two “major challenges”.

He added that he was working with France and Germany to release €30bn (£25.7bn) in funding from the European Union, which is being held up by demands for legislative reforms in Kyiv.

The British move to push through Ukrainian production of Scalp-EG is likely to trigger a further deterioration in diplomatic relations with Moscow.

On Sunday, the Kremlin revealed that it had withdrawn Andrei Kelin, its long-serving ambassador to London, after seven years in the UK.

Announcing the move, a spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry accused Britain of opting for a “path of confrontation” and urged the Government to “reconsider its policies towards our country”.

Last week, Moscow threatened undefined “consequences” when it emerged British-made drones had been used by Ukraine to strike targets on Russian soil.

Western intelligence sources have told The Telegraph that Russia has launched a fresh wave of attacks on European armaments factories under the guise of plausible deniability.

A spate of fires and explosions have been reported at plants in Estonia, Italy and Bulgaria, where drones and ammunition were being manufactured for Ukraine.

The Kremlin is recruiting local gang members to sabotage defence manufacturers to test Nato’s resolve.

The attacks appear carefully calculated to fall just short of triggering Article 5, Nato’s mutual defence clause, intelligence officials believe.

A Nato official told the Telegraph: “In recent years, Russia has accelerated its destabilisation campaigns against Allies through cyber attacks, assassination attempts and acts of sabotage.”

What has become known as the Kremlin’s “hybrid war”, different officials argue, is aimed at escalating tensions among Nato’s allies and deterring support for Ukraine.

The Nato official added: “Nato continues to boost its resilience and is applying and enhancing the tools at our disposal to counter hybrid actions. We continue to monitor malign activities conducted against Allies, including through proxies.

“At every stage, we will ensure that the Alliance is prepared to deter and defend against any threat and to keep our one billion citizens safe.”