Andrew Burnham, in his first foray into international statesmanship, today appeared as guest of honour at Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv with a rousing message of support for Ukraine. ‘My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st,’ Burnham said in a speech in front of Kyiv’s ancient St Sophia cathedral. ‘Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine.’ In addition to words, Burnham came bearing practical gifts in the form of blueprints that will allow the Ukrainians to assemble their own version of the UK/French Scalp-Storm Shadow ballistic missile. 

Storm Shadows will be a welcome, if expensive, upgrade to Kyiv’s strike capabilities – but one for the next war, not for this one

Storm Shadows will be a welcome, if expensive, upgrade to Kyiv’s strike capabilities – but one for the next war, not for this one

Burnham’s promise is a follow-up to a pledge last month by French President Emmanuel Macron to help the Ukrainians set up their own Storm Shadow production lines. But though the air-launched Storm Shadows, with their 250 km range and 450 kg warhead, are sophisticated and accurate, the earliest the Ukrainian-assembled models could appear is 2027. What Zelensky really needs now is missiles for his US-provided Patriot interceptors, the only weapons system capable of stopping Russian ballistic missiles. Over the weekend Zelensky said that he was willing to accept 300 Patriots in lieu of part of a........

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