Andy Burnham visits Kyiv in first foreign trip as PM

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Kyiv on Monday in his first trip abroad since taking office, using Ukraine's Independence Day to show support for Kyiv as it fights Russia's invasion.

Burnham was in the Ukrainian capital to attend a meeting of allies backing Kyiv. Speaking earlier alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky, he said Britain “will continue our support for Ukraine's defence”.

During the visit, Burnham went to a Kyiv shopping centre destroyed by a Russian attack in May and met local people. An AFP photographer saw him play chords on a guitar next to a Ukrainian soldier in the back of a soundproofed van.

According to media reports, Burnham played a tune by the British rock band The Smiths and said he believed music can “lift spirits” on Ukraine's front line.

The war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year. The source material said Russia has escalated strikes this year and that civilian deaths have climbed to their highest level since the first months of Moscow's 2022 invasion.

The Kremlin on Monday accused Britain of prolonging the war by helping Ukraine with missile technology.