Britain just sped up missiles to Ukraine as America cosies up to Russia
2 hours ago · 15 October 2026Share
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 Summit in Borgo Egnazia in Italy on 13 June 2024. File photo.Number 10 · CC BY 2.0
Volodymyr Zelenskyy just got a royal welcome in London. And he walked away with more missiles too.
So here's what happened. Ukraine's President met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace about a day ago. Twenty-five minutes, in the Chinese Dining Room, private audience.
Then straight to Downing Street. Andy Burnham, Britain's Prime Minister, was waiting. It's only their second meeting ever. The first one was back in July, at a Royal Navy base, right when Andy Burnham took office.
And this time Andy Burnham came with gifts.
Britain is speeding up a £45 million package of missiles for Ukraine. Lightweight Multirole Missiles. They're built to shoot down Russian drones, including the newer jet-powered ones that fly faster than anything before.
£10 million of that is being pulled forward right now, to get Ukraine through winter.
And here's the context. This isn't new money. Britain already promised £1.6 billion for more than 5,000 of these missiles, spread over four years. This is that same promise, just moving faster.
Britain also added new sanctions on Russia. This time targeting the shipping companies that help Russia sell its gas abroad.
So why now? Because the night before this meeting, Russia hit Ukraine hard. Thirty-nine ballistic missiles. More than a hundred drones. Energy sites in Kyiv and Kharkiv got hit. At least 600,000 people lost power. Three people died in Kyiv.
Andy Burnham pointed straight at that. He said Russia had launched further attacks on Ukraine's critical national infrastructure, and that it shows the world who the aggressor is.
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Southern Ukraine and the Black Sea, seen from satellite in 2005. File photo.NASA · Public domain
He also said Britain is with Ukraine for as long as it takes, and will go further and faster with its support.
Now here's the part that makes this bigger than just missiles.
Ukraine's biggest backer, America, is heading the other way.
Four days ago Donald Trump announced a deal with Russia. Lifting sanctions. Letting Russian diesel back onto world markets. When Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised that deal, Donald Trump said it was time for Ukraine to get a new president.
And there's more. Reports say the Trump administration has considered cutting off intelligence and weapons to Ukraine unless it stops hitting Russian oil refineries. Two days ago Donald Trump was asked straight out if America had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. He said quote "we are helping them, and we are sharing intel".
So that's where America stands. The White House hasn't said a word about Britain's new missile and sanctions announcement.
Before any of this, Andy Burnham told Parliament he'd try to repair bridges between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The goal is getting American support back on track. Nobody knows yet if that will actually work.
And Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still choosing his words carefully about America. He wants the partnership with the United States to hold, and says Ukraine just wants to be honest and strong partners.
He also thanked the King directly online, and told Andy Burnham personally that he was grateful to him, his team, and the people of Britain.
So what don't we know? Whether £45 million, even sped up, gets Ukraine through a winter of attacks on its power grid. Whether Donald Trump reacts to Britain going its own way on Russia. And whether Andy Burnham's bridge-building with Washington changes anything at all.
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