Andy Burnham is trying to restore relations between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that he would try to repair relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, amid recent tensions between the two. The statement was made ahead of the meeting scheduled for Wednesday at the British prime minister’s official residence on Downing Street.

Burnham told Parliament that his role was to restore ties between Trump and Zelensky so that support for Ukraine could resume. The Ukrainian leader was due to arrive in the United Kingdom after departing from the Polish city of Rzeszów, returning to flights from Poland after a period during which he had travelled from Chișinău.

At the same time, the British Government is preparing new measures to support Ukraine. London will provide £45 million worth of surface-to-air missiles and ban exports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.

The United Kingdom will also accelerate the delivery of more than 5,000 lightweight multirole missiles over the next four years, through £1.6 billion in funding. Minister John Healey will call on other countries to adopt similar sanctions, arguing that they would reduce the revenues Moscow uses for the war.

The measures are being announced ahead of the European Council summit, where European leaders are expected to support tougher sanctions against Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky and Western allies have criticised the agreement between Trump and Russia on easing restrictions on diesel exports.