UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to travel to New York next month to join European leaders in lobbying US President Donald Trump to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles, according to an interview with Bloomberg, as reported by infohub.kz.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking Independence Day, thanked world leaders on social media, including Trump, saying his message lifted spirits "much like the sound of a Patriot PAC-3 launch." The US Patriot air defence system has been vital in protecting Ukrainian cities from Russian attacks, but stocks are critically low, exacerbated by the US and Israel's war on Iran, which has diverted interceptors to the Middle East.
In his first foreign trip as PM, Burnham visited Kyiv yesterday, announcing the UK will release blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp missile, a French version of the Storm Shadow, enabling Ukraine to produce its own with France. "Ukraine has been Europe's protector, not a drain on our security, but the frontline of keeping Europe safe," he said.
Burnham expressed "really optimistic" that the interceptor shortage is "fixable," adding, "There are other players who could help in the mix who we have influence with. It's probably going to be a solution that involves a lot of layers and a lot of negotiation."
Also today: European Council President António Costa travels to Slovakia for talks with PM Robert Fico, who has been less forthcoming on military aid to Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosts Vatican diplomat Paul Gallagher in Moscow, a visit described as "a mission of dialogue and peace." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz returns from recess, facing a crucial test in next month's elections, with the far-right AfD potentially winning in Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September.
Additionally, at least 35,000 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe's record-breaking heatwaves, with provisional figures showing over 25,000 in Germany, France, and Spain alone, as reported by The Guardian.