Kremlin says it has no hope for better UK ties under Burnham

The Kremlin said it had no hope that relations with the United Kingdom would improve under Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, who took office a day earlier.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had “no such hopes” when asked whether ties could improve. He criticised Burnham's support for Ukraine, saying one of Burnham's first actions was to make statements backing Ukraine and showing an intention to continue the war.

Burnham replaced Keir Starmer in Downing Street. He spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his first day in office on Monday and said he would tell Zelensky there would be “no change” in London's policy on Ukraine and that he would be with him “100 percent.”

The source said Russia sees the UK as one of the most hostile Western countries and that relations are at historic lows over several issues, including accusations of Russian poisonings on UK soil. It also said London became one of Kyiv's main backers after the Ukraine war erupted.

Burnham previously served as mayor of Manchester. London has hosted Zelensky for several rounds of talks on how to end the war in Ukraine.