LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters): UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Ukraine on Monday on his first overseas trip since taking office, and will announce British support to help Kyiv improve its domestic production of long-range missiles.

Burnham will be in Ukraine to co-chair a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries backing Ukraine, on Monday when he is also due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

He is set to announce that Britain has agreed to allow European missile manufacturer MBDA to release classified information on British-made components used in the SCALP ⁠long-range cruise missile, according to his office.

That will help enable France and Ukraine to establish local assembly lines for the missile, which shares British and French technology, according to Downing Street.

"Ukraine's security is our security," Burnham said in a statement, adding that Britain would stand by Ukraine "for as long as it takes".

Britain has been one of Ukraine's strongest supporters since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, providing military support, economic aid and diplomatic backing.

Britain was the first country to announce plans to supply Ukraine with Western-made battle tanks and long-range cruise ⁠missiles following the invasion and has pledged more than £25 billion ($34 billion) so far in military and civilian support.

Photo from SWNS