What Ukrainians really need is Burnham in Washington, defence expert says

Mace | 27th August 2026 | International, Kyiv

Andriy Dovbenko is a Ukrainian-born, London-based entrepreneur who works extensively across the UK and Ukrainian defence.

It is good to see Andy Burnham in Kyiv. Choosing Ukraine for his first international visit matters, and I like some of the informality around it too. The polo shirt, playing guitar with Ukrainian soldiers, all of that feels a long way from the old routine of standing behind a lectern and issuing another carefully worded expression of concern. The difficulty is that the war is entering a much uglier phase. Ukraine is still holding its ground, but the aerial war is turning against us. Russia is hitting cities, energy infrastructure, ports, major businesses and industrial sites with ballistic missiles and drones. Winter is approaching, there are already serious discussions about what happens if electricity and water supplies are badly damaged, and another large Russian mobilisation would put even more pressure on the country and its economy. Ukraine urgently needs more Patriot air-defence systems and interceptors. They are among the few systems capable of dealing wi...

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