Britain's New Leader Wants to Ask Trump for Missiles Ukraine Badly Needs
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he and other European leaders plan to travel to the United States in September 2026 to ask President Donald Trump to let Ukraine have access to Patriot air defense missiles before winter (Bloomberg). Burnham told Bloomberg in an interview: "I'm looking forward to going to New York in September." The trip would line up with the UN General Assembly, a yearly meeting where world leaders gather in New York from 22 to 28 September. It would be Burnham's first visit to the US since becoming prime minister in July 2026, and possibly his first face-to-face meeting with Trump.
Downing Street, the UK prime minister's office, has softened Burnham's remarks, saying the plans to attend the UN General Assembly are not definite. Speaking in Kyiv after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Burnham said he had not fully confirmed the details but it was likely he would go, especially after their discussion. The timing is tricky: Labour's annual conference, a major political event for Burnham's party, begins on 27 September in Liverpool, overlapping with the end of the General Assembly week.
Burnham's trip to Kyiv on 24 August was his first official overseas visit since becoming prime minister. There, he laid a wreath for Ukraine's independence day alongside other European leaders, including European Council President António Costa. Choosing Kyiv as his first destination fits with Burnham's foreign policy, which has so far closely followed that of his predecessor, Keir Starmer. During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Burnham said there would be no change in the UK's steadfast support for Kyiv.
Two policy announcements from the Kyiv visit stood out. First, Burnham said the UK government would allow the European defence company MBDA to share classified information about UK-made parts of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles, so that Ukraine can build its own version. The UK Ministry of Defence separately announced a new partnership for the UK and Ukraine to develop "battle-winning technology," involving Burnham and the Defence Secretary (UK Ministry of Defence). Second, Burnham urged Ukraine's allies to send more Patriot interceptor missiles to Kyiv as Ukraine struggles under continued Russian bombardment.
The Patriot missile shortfall is what connects Burnham's Kyiv visit to his planned US trip. Patriots are missiles that shoot down incoming enemy missiles in the sky — like a shield that Ukraine holds over its cities. Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for more of them in recent months as Ukraine's supply has run low. Missiles have been sent to the Middle East instead since the US went to war with Iran, and Ukraine has received far fewer this year than before. Russia has taken advantage of the shortage by firing more ballistic missiles, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 100 in the past three days.
Burnham co-chaired his first "coalition of the willing" meeting in Kyiv. That is a group of allied countries working together to support Ukraine with military and diplomatic help. He said the group was doing everything it could to dig into its own missile stocks and help others do the same. He expressed confidence that the Patriot supply problem was fixable, though he acknowledged the solution would "probably involve a lot of layers and a lot of negotiation" and that other players who could help were "in the mix." That vague language suggests a broad diplomatic effort rather than a single direct request, though the main goal is clearly to persuade the Trump administration to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine before winter makes defending the country even harder.
Russia has threatened unspecified retaliation against the UK for what Moscow calls increased involvement in the conflict. The threat follows a pattern of Russia escalating its rhetoric against Western countries that supply arms to Ukraine, though the lack of detail makes it unclear whether Moscow plans real action or is simply sending a diplomatic warning.
The broader context here is a UK prime minister, barely six weeks into the job, trying to hold together a fragile European coalition supporting Ukraine at a moment when US attention and military resources are stretched across two conflicts at the same time. Burnham's foreign policy continuity with Starmer suggests no appetite for a major change in direction, but the situation on the ground has shifted: Patriot availability now depends on the US-Iran war as much as on Western willingness to supply Ukraine. Whether Burnham can get anything from Trump at the General Assembly, or whether the trip happens at all, will show how much influence a brand-new prime minister can muster on short notice.
The scheduling tension between New York and Liverpool also matters. A prime minister who skips or shortens his first Labour conference as leader to press Ukraine's case abroad sends a message about priorities. Whether that message plays well with his own party is a separate question entirely.
