Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday, July 27th, 2026, at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth. This marked the first foreign leader visit since Burnham took office last week. Downing Street stated the meeting was intended to underscore Britain's steadfast support for Ukraine.

During the visit, the UK pledged to provide new, home-grown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones engaged in ongoing strikes against Russian oil and gas infrastructure. Zelenskyy and Burnham also committed to working closely on defence and military manufacturing.

The meeting took place hours after Russia launched ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv. Burnham and Zelenskyy were scheduled to meet over 200 Ukrainian military personnel and sailors participating in Exercise Sea Breeze, a maritime security and counter-mine exercise in Britain preparing forces for future Black Sea missions.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK has spent £25 billion ($47.5 billion) supporting Ukraine, including £16 billion in military aid and £5.6 billion in non-military support, according to Downing Street. Burnham's predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, had pledged €300 million ($488 million) to equip Ukraine with 16 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets shortly before stepping down.

Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of strong collaboration, saying, "We are ready to share all of our experience with the UK, and I hope the UK will do the same, so we need to make this drone deal be very strong." He added, "It gives us the possibility to be more strong — Russia and Putin do not respect weak."

Burnham told Zelenskyy, "You are the first leader I have welcomed in person since taking office, and that is no accident."

Sources