00:00The UK's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
00:05in the southern coastal city of Portsmouth on Monday.
00:09During the meeting, Burnham vowed to make good on all of London's long-term commitments
00:14to Kiev from his predecessor Keir Starmer's era, and pledged continued unwavering support
00:19to the country in its war against Russia since it was invaded in 2022.
00:24Speaking to local media about the meeting, Burnham said the UK stands ready to support
00:29Ukraine through its needs this upcoming winter, most importantly, defense missiles.
00:35That was a big item of discussion today, the whole question of anti-ballistic missiles and
00:41the supply of them to Ukraine, particularly in terms of Ukraine protecting critical national
00:47infrastructure during the winters that can be very harsh in Ukraine. So we talked at length
00:53about that issue. I intend to visit soon and we will build this and we will work through
01:03the different issues that President Zelensky has, many of which we've gone into today.
01:10Zelensky praised Burnham for his country's continued support and for selecting him as the first foreign
01:16leader to host since taking office last week.
01:19I am honored to be the first foreign leader to visit the UK since Andy took office and we truly
01:27appreciate this. Our relationship with the UK is stronger than ever and I thank Andy for his commitment
01:37to this partnership and for giving so much attention to defense and to our security. And defense and
01:45security are never just words." Burnham described the meeting with Zelensky as very warm, reassuring
01:52Ukrainians that political change domestically will not disrupt bilateral ties with Kyiv. Zelensky set
01:59to travel to Washington on Tuesday where he'll meet with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump for
02:04high-stakes talks at the Oval Office.
