European leaders brought pledges of further military and financial support as they met Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday for Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.

PM Andy Burnham announced his government has agreed to allow defence company MBDA to release classified information relating to British components used in the SCALP long-range missile.

That paves the way for France and Ukraine to advance plans for the weapon’s production in Ukraine.

SCALP is the French version of the UK’s Storm Shadow missile, with both systems incorporating shared technology.

“Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security, but the front line of keeping Europe safe,” Burnham said, adding that Kyiv and its partners “must keep up the pressure on Moscow.”

Ukraine has leaned heavily on Nato countries for help fighting Russia’s bigger army, although relations with the United States have been cooler under president Donald Trump.

Russia, meanwhile, is getting help from North Korea and China.

He was killed in a “storm operation” on 10 June, according to a Russia-linked social media account seen by LBC.

Townsend was described as a “warrior in a holy war” who had “sacrificed his life for the cause” by the account.

Ukraine has targeted four logistics hubs owned by Russia’s second-largest online retailer Ozon, widening a campaign of drone strikes on Russian e-commerce companies intended to inflict more damage on the war-battered economy.

Ozon’s shares tumbled after it reported the strikes in southern Russia, which brought to six the number of its facilities targeted in the last three days.

Kyiv had until last week focused on Ozon’s rival, Wildberries, in attacks on the e-commerce sector — one of the fastest-growing parts of the Russian economy.

Ozon said in a statement that a logistics hub in Makhachkala in Dagestan was on fire and had halted operations after a drone attack, adding: “According to preliminary information, several people were injured.”

A fire also broke out at an ​Ozon ⁠logistics hub in the town of Enem on the outskirts of the city of Krasnodar, and workers were evacuated from warehouses in Adygeysk, in the Adygeya region, and in Nevinnomyssk in the Stavropol region although neither facility was damaged, it said.

North Korea deploys drone unit among 8,500 troops fighting Ukraine war, says Kyiv

North Korea has sent at least 8,500 troops to Russia, including a drone attack unit to survey and hit targets inside Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s defence intelligence, Major General Vadym Skibitskiy, said that the North Korean forces are mostly spread in Russia’s Kursk region and around a thousand of them are engineers and deminers.

At least 400 more are believed to be drone operators, marking the first time North Korea has deployed an official drone warfare unit in the Ukraine war on behalf of Russia, the official said. Many of them have received direct or indirect experience from previous North Korean deployments.

Mr Skibitskiy said Russian president Vladimir Putin could ask his North Korean ally Kim Jong Un to deploy another 50,000 forces if they meet in September as part of Moscow and Pyongyang’s continuing military cooperation.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has handed the Russian state the power to take control of critically important infrastructure if it is deemed to ⁠be poorly protected from Ukrainian drone attacks and other threats.

The special powers, set out in a presidential decree, will allow the state to take over temporary administration of such facilities at a time when Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on oil refineries and retail warehouses.

The state will be able to take control of physical and financial assets and formal ⁠ownership rights if entities responsible for such facilities are judged ​to ⁠have failed in their duty to ‌protect them and are too slow to repair them after any attack, according to the decree.

It applies to fuel, energy, industrial, communications, transport and logistics facilities and other objects regarded as critically-important for ensuring the security and economic stability of the state and the population.

First deputy prime minister Denis Manturov said the ⁠measure should not be viewed as a precursor to nationalisation and would not be used on a broad scale.

The Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region was on fire following a drone attack, regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said this morning.

He ‌added that two ⁠people were killed and two others were injured due to ‌falling drone ​debris ‌in ⁠the area.

Leaders of Britain and France pledged to provide Ukraine with stronger military support — including access to classified technology and faster deliveries of air defence missiles — at a meeting of allies to mark Kyiv’s Independence Day celebrations.

PM Andy Burnham, in Kyiv on his first foreign visit since taking office last month, urged the gathering of the “Coalition of the Willing” to “do everything we can” to bolster Ukraine’s defences against Russian air strikes.

“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia. The moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said, calling for further economic sanctions.

Britain announced on ⁠Monday it would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. France has already given ​its assent to license ⁠the technology for the European missile.

French president Emmanuel Macron, co-chairing the coalition meeting via video link, said that a string of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks had shown that allies needed to step up the deliveries of interceptors and France would do its part.

“I think it’s very important that all of us accelerate in terms of delivery,” Macron told the meeting, urging countries not to back down in the face of Russian intimidation.

“The bottom line is, for me, very clear: keep calm and carry on.”

Zelensky told the meeting that Ukraine’s war effort was complicated by a $27bn defence funding gap this year and appealed for additional financial support.

He suggested that Russia’s frozen overseas assets could be used to finance the deficit.

Prime minister Andy Burnham is planning to head to the US next month to speak with US president Donald Trump about Ukraine’s needs, reported Bloomberg.

“I am looking forward to going to New York in September,” the PM said, referring to the UN General Assembly gathering.

While the details are not “fully confirmed”, Burnham said it is “likely” he will go.

“Leaving today, I’m quite clear what I need to do in the next few weeks,” he said as he wrapped up his first official visit to Ukraine, where he vowed to use pressure on Russia to end the war.

The White House is yet to issue a comment on a likely meeting between Trump and Burnham.

Moscow has withdrawn its UK ambassador as relations between Britain and Russia continue to deteriorate amid Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Andrey Kelin, who had been in the role for more than seven years, left his post on 21 July.

According to The Times, Russia is yet to submit another candidate to the Foreign Office and there is reportedly no indication of when a replacement may be appointed.