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The 35 years of Ukraine’s independence from Soviet rule are an opportunity to bring the war on the eastern flank of Europe back to the center of international politics. And they push the Willing to accelerate their support for the invaded country, driven above all by Andy Burnham.
London’s approval for Scalp technology
During his visit to Kiev – on his first trip abroad – the new British Prime Minister authorized the defense company MBDA to share classified projects with the Ukrainian forces on the British components of the Scalp missile, the French version of the Storm Shadow, a fundamental step in allowing the French and Ukrainians to accelerate the production of this long-range weapon in Ukraine. While French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the exercises of the “Multinational Force for Ukraine” – the peacekeeping initiative created within the coalition – “will be conducted in the months of October and November”. An announcement which saw the clarification by return of post from sources at Palazzo Chigi, according to which Italy “will not participate”, in line with the government’s position of “no to Italian soldiers” in Ukraine.
Costa in Kiev and the new European funds
On the anniversary of independence, Zelensky first of all received renewed support from his closest allies, starting from the President of the European Council Antonio Costa who, having arrived in Kiev, spoke of “unconditional support” from the EU, while the European Commission approved new funds worth 6.1 billion euros intended for air and anti-missile defense systems, missiles, ammunition and radar. From the Ukrainian capital, Prime Minister Burnham promised to provide “all the help needed”, comparing Ukraine’s resistance against Russia to the United Kingdom’s fight against Nazi Germany. Words that materialized first and foremost in the authorization to provide confidential information on the Scalp, which sent the Kremlin into a rage: “The United Kingdom is participating in this war, systematically and regularly fueling the conflict” and “throwing fuel on the fire”, attacked spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. «Who started the fire? That’s the question,” Burnham replied bluntly to the Russian official.
Zelensky’s request: 300 Patriots for the winter
The British Prime Minister’s support for Kiev continued explicitly in his speech at the Volenterosi video call, in which he urged allies to supply more Patriot interceptor missiles, before calling on the US Congress to “intensify” the economic pressure on Russia. Burnham’s appeals seem to respond directly to the priorities expressed by Zelensky during the meeting, co-chaired by both together with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz and in which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also participated remotely: “We need at least 300 Patriot missiles for the winter”, the leader of Kiev told the allies, formulating a request that goes hand in hand with that of addressing the economic deficit recorded in the Ukrainian defense sector, quantified at 27 billion euros. One solution, according to the president, could be to bring forward the disbursement of European funds scheduled for 2027 or draw on frozen Russian assets.
Sanctions, shadow fleet and Macron’s alarm
In response to Kiev’s demands, the leaders of the Willing “pledged to increase military support to Ukraine, strengthen air defense as an urgent priority and intensify sanctions against the Russian military-industrial complex.” In this regard, Emmanuel Macron proposed to convene «in a few weeks a ministerial meeting dedicated to the fight against the shadow fleet, in order to ensure that, wherever it is possible to act, we do so». The French president then warned his allies that “Russia will intensify tensions towards European countries” and “NATO countries will be targeted”. Faced with this threat, “we must continue what we have started to do within NATO to guarantee a resolute position”, is the hope of the head of the Elysée.