UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Wednesday, in what Burnham casts as a show of 'rock-solid' British backing, with faster missile deliveries and a push to ban Russian LNG announced to coincide with the Burnham Zelenskyy No 10 meeting.

Faster missile deliveries against jet-powered drones

To coincide with the visit, the UK said it will move faster in supplying Ukraine with British-made lightweight multi-role missiles (LMMs) designed to counter a new generation of Russian jet-powered drones. Downing Street said part of an ongoing £1.6bn package to deliver more than 5,000 LMMs to Ukraine would be sped up in response to the jet-powered drone attacks.

The new drones are quicker and fly higher than the propeller-driven Shahed drones previously used, making them harder to shoot down and allowing Russia to strike more targets, including in Kyiv.

A push to ban Russian LNG exports

Burnham and his ministers will push for a full international maritime services ban on exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). Separately, Chancellor John Healey will use meetings at the ongoing International Monetary Fund summit in Bangkok to press other countries to ban Russian LNG.

'We are with you for as long as it takes'

In a statement ahead of the visit, Burnham said the UK's rock-solid support to Ukraine is vital for keeping Britain safe and for equipping the frontlines to push back Russia. He added that Russia's aggression cannot be allowed to succeed on the European continent.

The line comes from Burnham's statement issued ahead of Wednesday's meeting, in which he also pledged to go further and faster in backing what he called Ukraine's fight for peace in Europe.

A visit against a strained backdrop

The meeting comes as Ukraine faces increased Russian missile and drone attacks, after Donald Trump made a deal to buy Russian diesel, called for Ukraine to have a new leader, and announced a supposed ceasefire tied to energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy said that announced ceasefire was news to him. He expressed anger at the diesel deal, saying subsequent Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine amounted to a "thanks" from Vladimir Putin.

• •Burnham and Zelenskyy have met twice since Burnham took office in July: at a Portsmouth naval base that month and in Kyiv in August.
• •Zelenskyy previously met Keir Starmer at Downing Street the day after Trump and JD Vance publicly berated him in the Oval Office 18 months earlier.
• •On that earlier trip, Zelenskyy was also hosted by King Charles at Sandringham in Norfolk, a royal home rarely used for such visits.

The visit is set for Wednesday at Downing Street, with Healey pressing other countries on a Russian LNG ban at the IMF summit in Bangkok.