UK PM Andy Burnham likely to meet Trump at UN summit amid Ukraine missile plea

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to travel to New York next month for the UN General Assembly, possibly setting up a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump as London seeks stronger international support for Ukraine.Burnham told Bloomberg in an interview that he was “looking forward to going to New York in September”, although Downing Street said plans for the trip had not yet been finalised. The UN General Assembly is scheduled to take place from September 22 to 28.First US visit since taking officeThe visit, if confirmed, would be Burnham’s first trip to the US since becoming prime minister in July. It would also allow him to meet Trump and other world leaders during the annual gathering in New York.The timing could prove challenging, however, as the Labour Party’s annual conference begins in Liverpool on September 27.Burnham’s remarks came during his first official overseas visit as prime minister, to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated Britain’s support for Ukraine.Burnham urges allies to send more PatriotsDuring his Ukraine visit, Burnham urged Kyiv’s allies to provide more Patriot interceptor missiles as Ukraine faces intensified Russian missile attacks.Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for additional US-made Patriot missiles, with supplies to Ukraine falling as some interceptors have been redirected to the Middle East following the outbreak of the US-Iran war.Burnham told Bloomberg he was “really confident” the shortage could be resolved, but said it would require negotiations involving several countries.“There are other players who could help in the mix who we have influence with,” he said, adding that a solution would likely involve “a lot of layers and a lot of negotiation”.UK to share missile technology with UkraineDuring his Kyiv visit, Burnham announced that Britain would allow defence company MBDA to declassify information about UK-made components used in the Storm Shadow/SCALP long-range missiles.The move is intended to help Ukraine develop its own version of the missile as it continues to defend itself against Russian attacks.Burnham also co-chaired a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, telling participating nations they were doing “everything we can” to use their own stocks and encourage others to provide weapons to Ukraine.Russia has intensified ballistic missile attacks amid Ukraine’s shortage of air-defence interceptors, with at least 23 people reportedly killed and more than 100 wounded over the past three days.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.