Burnham to lobby Trump on Ukraine missiles as Kremlin accuses UK of prolonging war

Andy Burnham is heading to New York to make a case to Donald Trump that Ukraine needs more American firepower. The British prime minister, fresh from a visit to Kyiv, plans to carry President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's urgent plea for Patriot air-defense missiles directly to the American president. Burnham said he felt "really optimistic" that Ukraine's shortage of interceptor missiles was "fixable," though he acknowledged the solution would require layered negotiations involving multiple countries and partners willing to contribute.

The timing of Burnham's mission underscores the intensity of Ukraine's struggle to defend its cities and infrastructure from Russian aerial bombardment. Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukraine recently received a small number of Patriot interceptors and secured commitments for French Crotale surface-to-air missiles, but the quantities fall far short of what military analysts say the country needs to sustain its air defense. The weapons shortage has become acute as Russia intensifies drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian targets, from power plants to civilian areas.

Moscow is watching these diplomatic moves with alarm—or at least claiming to be. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Burnham and Finnish President Alexander Stubb of belonging to the "party of war," suggesting that Western leaders pushing for continued military aid to Ukraine are actually prolonging the conflict rather than seeking peace. Stubb had visited Kyiv and publicly supported Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian territory, arguing they could raise the cost of war for Moscow and push it toward negotiations. Peskov's retort was sharp: these leaders, he said, had "distinguished themselves over the past few days with such bellicose statements."

While Burnham prepares his lobbying effort, another significant diplomatic channel opened in Moscow. CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to the Russian capital for meetings, marking his first known visit to Russia since taking the intelligence post. Flight-tracking data showed a U.S. military C-17 transport aircraft traveling from the United States through Latvia to Moscow, then departing the same day. Neither American nor Russian officials immediately commented on the visit or its purpose, though multiple U.S. media outlets confirmed Ratcliffe's presence. The visit suggested that even as Western leaders pushed for more weapons for Ukraine, back-channel conversations with Russia were continuing at the highest levels of the American intelligence establishment.

Earlier in the day, a Vatican envoy had met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Pope Leo XIV's representative, Paul Gallagher, told Reuters after the meeting that "the Ukrainian war must end" and that the two had discussed "avenues for pursuing lasting and just peace in Ukraine." The convergence of these diplomatic efforts—weapons lobbying, intelligence talks, and peace discussions—painted a picture of a conflict at a critical juncture, with multiple actors simultaneously pushing for military escalation and negotiated settlement.

The Kremlin's accusations of a "war party" in the West reflected Moscow's frustration with the sustained international support for Ukraine's defense. Russia has faced months of escalating Ukrainian drone attacks on its oil refineries and logistics hubs, causing nationwide disruptions. In response, Putin issued a decree allowing the state to temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure from private owners if they failed to protect it from Ukrainian strikes or rebuild after attacks. Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov insisted this did not amount to nationalization, but the move signaled the economic strain the war was placing on Russia.

Burnham's upcoming conversation with Trump will test whether the American president, who has previously expressed skepticism about open-ended military aid to Ukraine, can be persuaded to increase Patriot supplies. The outcome may depend partly on whether Trump sees the weapons as a way to strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position—or whether he views them as obstacles to the kind of settlement he has suggested he could broker. For now, Burnham expressed confidence that a solution existed, one that would require coordination among multiple allies rather than any single nation bearing the burden alone.