British prime minister Andy Burnham and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky speak aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth at His Majesty's Naval Base in Portsmouth. (EPA Images pic)PORTSMOUTH: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham held his first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a UK naval base on Monday, pledging new "Stone Cloak" jamming technology to help safeguard Ukraine's drones on the battlefield.The meeting on the dockside and on board an aircraft carrier in the southern city of Portsmouth was Burnham's first bilateral with a foreign leader and comes ahead of a visit by Zelensky to Washington on Tuesday aimed at ending the four-year war with Russia."We are with Ukraine 100%. I am personally with you 100 percent, Mr President," Burnham assured Zelensky after the two men, both wearing similar dark casual clothes, shook hands on the dockside.Zelensky thanked Burnham for an "important signal of support" and said he had invited Burnham to visit Ukraine, after the leaders spoke by phone within hours of the new prime minister taking office.Vowing to "honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine," Burnham said Britain was "going further" and was "providing new, home-grown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones" as both Moscow and Kyiv intensify drone and missile strikes."It will help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives.
It also shows the kind of innovation our industries can deliver together," Burnham said.Afterwards, Zelensky wrote on X he was "grateful" to Britain for "today's decision to provide Ukraine with electronic warfare technologies" that would "certainly be useful on the battlefield".The leaders met on board Britain's flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and spoke to armed forces personnel involved in training Ukrainian service members."Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering," Burnham said in a statement."Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down until we achieve long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine."London announced it will share with Kyiv information on a new battle-tested electronic jamming capability dubbed "Stone Cloak".When attached to drones, the tablet-sized, military-grade jammers can hinder Russian air defence systems from tracking and targeting such weapons in-flight, Downing Street said.Thousands…
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