Britain’s prime minister announced today that the United Kingdom will share the technology behind a jamming system designed to help Ukraine circumvent Russian air defenses, during a visit by the Ukrainian President to the country.
Volodymyr Zelensky is the first foreign leader to be received by the new Labour head of government, Andy Burnham, who took office a week ago. The visit comes ahead of Zelensky’s trip to Washington on Tuesday, where he will meet with American counterpart Donald Trump, more than four years after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The United Kingdom is one of Ukraine’s principal backers and has already mobilized roughly 25 billion pounds (about 29 billion euros) since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, of which 16 billion has gone toward military aid.
Burnham and Zelensky met at a naval base in Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, where they spoke with Ukrainian and British service members taking part in a mine-clearing exercise aimed at preparing for future missions in the Black Sea.
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“Volodymyr is the first leader I am receiving in person since taking office, and that is no accident,” Burnham told Zelensky, adding that he wanted to send a very clear message.
“We are 100% behind Ukraine, I am personally 100% on your side, and I will fully honor every commitment this country has made to Ukraine,” he stated.
Burnham announced that the UK would share with Ukraine the intellectual property behind a new British electronic jamming system called Stone Cloak, presented as capable of making it harder for Russian air defenses to detect and locate drones.
This transfer will allow Kyiv to produce the jamming system at large scale, at a time when Ukraine is seeking to preserve its technological edge in the drone war against Russia. In practice, Burnham said, it will allow drones to reach their targets and save Ukrainian lives.
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The visit marks Andy Burnham’s first genuine diplomatic engagement, following a first week in office focused largely on domestic issues such as purchasing power and decentralization.
“I am grateful to the United Kingdom for its decision to provide Ukraine with electronic warfare technologies to protect Ukrainian drones,” Zelensky said in response, inviting Burnham to visit Ukraine.
This jamming system is also intended to equip the next generation of British capabilities, including the future low-cost cruise missile being developed under the Brakestop project.
The announcement reflects both countries’ desire to strengthen military cooperation. The day before, on Sky News, Zelensky had indicated that Kyiv was ready to share all of its knowledge with the United Kingdom, expressing hope that the United Kingdom would do the same.
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Kyiv is using the expertise it has developed in recent years fighting drones as leverage to seek international assistance, as it recently did with Gulf countries targeted by Iranian drones.
Since February 2022, the Ukrainian head of state has traveled to the United Kingdom six times.
