Defence is “right up there as a top priority” Andy Burnham has said, pledging to reach 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence spending by 2035.

Speaking to reporters in Portsmouth, the prime minister said: “It’s my job to keep this country safe and therefore, in the world that we’re living in, defence has to be right up there as a top priority.

“I’ve said already that I will fully fund the Defence Investment Plan.

“You know, my duty to those who serve our country is to make sure that they have got the kit that they need, that it’s up to date, and I will honour the commitments there.

“And looking to the future, we will honour our Nato commitments – 3.5 per cent by 2035 – that’s the commitment the country’s made.”

Mr Burnham later added that his ministers “will have to prioritise”.

He continued: “But that’s what I’ve been doing in my first days in office – I have reprioritised spending towards the cost of living initially.

“So, last week, I said that I didn’t think digital ID was the country’s highest priority right now and I took some of the funds that had been allocated and have redirected them to other priorities that will support people with the cost of living.

“So yes, I’ve shown already that I’m prepared to do that – I will do that to support defence investment and it’s just clear to me that that has to be a priority in this world in which we currently find ourselves.”

Andy Burnham has announced he intends to visit Ukraine “soon”.

Speaking to reporters, the prime minister was asked about his meeting with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

He responded: “We’ve taken away some things that we will now follow up with our partners.

“Overall, it was a very warm meeting.

“I thought I would get on well with him (Zelensky), and I did. We got on very well indeed, and this is going to be a close partnership. I intend to visit soon.”

Russian forces struck three Ukrainian ports, including fuel ⁠loading and storage facilities that benefited the Ukrainian ⁠army ​at the ⁠port of Odesa, ⁠Russia’s Defence Ministry said ​on ⁠Monday.

The ministry ‌said Russian forces had also ‌carried out strikes on ‌storage tanks containing fuel and ⁠lubricants intended for the Ukrainian army at the port of Chornomorsk and had struck a ‌cargo ship ​at the ‌port ⁠of Mykolaiv that ⁠had delivered military supplies.

Andy Burnham told Volodymyr Zelensky “we are with you 100 per cent” as Ukraine’s president became the first leader welcomed by the new prime minister since he took office.

“We are with Ukraine 100 per cent. I am personally with you 100 per cent, Mr President,” he said. “And I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.”

He said: “We will continue to help you fight and defend your nation. As a sign of our intent, I can announce today that we are going further. We’re providing new homegrown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones.

“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.

“Second, we will support you to get to a full and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine has already changed the story of this war. You are turning the tables on Russia.

“So we will keep up the pressure, pushing for a ceasefire, and a resumption of negotiations, which must have Ukraine at the table, and include a strong voice for Europe too.

“Third, we will help you secure the peace. We will continue to lead the coalition of the willing, together with our allies, and when a ceasefire is finally in place, we will be ready to deploy a multinational force to strengthen Ukraine’s security for the long term.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in the UK as he shared footage of him stepping off the plane.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will join Andy Burnham to visit a naval base where the new prime minister will announce that Britain will hand over the intellectual property behind its new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system, enabling Ukraine to produce the technology at scale.

The tablet-sized device is designed to block Russian detection of any drones it is fitted to.

The Ministry of Defence has already given thousands of the jammers to Ukrainian forces to bolster their drone operations.

Tatiana Navka, the wife of Russian president ​Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has launched a legal challenge aimed at overturning European Union sanctions imposed on her over the war in Ukraine, according ⁠to details published on an EU website. Navka, a former Olympic ice-skating champion, was put on a sanctions list by the EU in June 2022 that targeted people over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Peskov’s ⁠daughter Elizaveta and son Nikolai ​were ⁠included on the same list.

Brussels said at the time that the sanctions, which included a travel ban ⁠to the EU and financial restrictions, were imposed “in ​respect ⁠of actions undermining or threatening ‌the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”

Details published on the EU’s EUR-Lex website showed that Navka, 51 — who was ‌born in Soviet Ukraine but is ‌a Russian citizen — is now seeking to overturn the sanctions on her via the European Court of Justice.

The legal filing said she was ⁠arguing that the reason for the restrictions on her had not been properly set out, that errors of law and factual assessment had been made, and that the EU had failed to prove a sufficient link between her and the stated aim of its sanctions.

Navka is seeking damages from ‌the Council of the European Union for material damage ​and for damage to her reputation and other ‌non-material damage totalling just ⁠over €2 million (£1.71 million), the same document showed.

Another official EU ⁠database shows that Yekaterina Ignatova, wife of Sergei Chemezov, head of the ‌state-owned Rostec defence and ​industrial corporation, is seeking to ‌overturn EU sanctions on her ​via the same legal route.

Ukraine struck a Russian export terminal in ⁠the Rostov region, as well ⁠as ​oil facilities ⁠in the ⁠Yaroslavl and Udmurtia ​regions overnight, ⁠President ‌Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“We are ‌carrying out ‌our plan of ⁠long-range sanctions and reducing Russia’s ability to finance the war,” Zelenskiy said ‌on X, ​referring to ‌Ukrainian ⁠strikes deep ⁠inside Russia.

Russian forces have struck two vessels carrying ⁠military cargo in the southern Ukrainian port city ⁠of ​Mykolaiv, the ⁠Russian Defence Ministry ⁠said on Monday.

Russia and Ukraine ‌have stepped ‌up military activity in and around ⁠the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in recent weeks, with each ‌side attacking dozens ​of ‌ships, including ⁠oil tankers ⁠and cargo vessels.