{"text":[[{"start":9.36,"text":"Andy Burnham will on Monday travel to Kyiv on his first overseas visit as UK prime minister, with a promise to support the construction in Ukraine of long-range missiles capable of hitting targets in Russia."}],[{"start":22.08,"text":"Burnham, speaking on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, will shrug off recent warnings from Russia over Britain’s support for Kyiv’s war effort and declare: “The UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes.”"}],[{"start":36.16,"text":"After conducting a summer tour of the UK that has been focused heavily on domestic issues, Burnham’s trip to Kyiv will see the new premier start to sketch out a fledgling foreign policy."}],[{"start":46.64,"text":"Last week Moscow warned Britain of unspecified “consequences” over the use by Ukraine of British-made drones in attacks on Russian targets, and Burnham’s visit is likely to inflame tensions further."}],[{"start":57.68,"text":"Downing Street said Burnham would announce that defence group MBDA will be allowed to release classified information on UK components for the Scalp long-range missile, as Kyiv and Paris look to establish local production lines in Ukraine."}],[{"start":71.8,"text":"The missile is the French-produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow, with both using shared French and British technology."}],[{"start":79.04,"text":"“On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes,” Burnham will say."}],[{"start":88.48,"text":"“The friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and deliver opportunities for people across both our countries.”"}],[{"start":101,"text":"He will add: “Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”"}],[{"start":108.16,"text":"Burnham will chair in Kyiv a meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, a group of countries committed to helping secure any peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow. Other world leaders will be in Ukraine for Independence Day events."}],[{"start":120.48,"text":"Burnham’s arrival in Kyiv will come at a sensitive time in Ukraine’s domestic politics."}],[{"start":125.92,"text":"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply rejected calls from his former defence minister for wartime elections, as he moved to reassert authority after weeks of political turmoil."}],[{"start":137.12,"text":"Speaking to journalists in Kyiv’s presidential office, Zelenskyy said elections in the midst of Russia’s war would be a “tsunami for the state” that would “split Ukraine apart”."}],[{"start":147.32,"text":"The rebuke was Zelenskyy’s first response to a nine-minute video address released on Tuesday by Mykhailo Fedorov, a longtime ally whom the president sacked as defence minister last month. Downing Street said it did not comment on the domestic politics of another country."}],[{"start":163,"text":"Burnham, former mayor of Greater Manchester, has stressed in his first few weeks his commitment to tackling the issues facing the daily lives of voters and has said little about foreign policy or his approach to EU relations."}],[{"start":176.4,"text":"The focus on issues such as the cost of living and the state of shops and pubs is resonating with voters, according to polls. By contrast, his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer was sometimes criticised for spending too much time on foreign policy."}],[{"start":190.76,"text":"Meanwhile, Moscow has denied that it intends to “downgrade the level of diplomatic relations” between Russia and the UK in spite of the ambassadorial role in London being vacant."}],[{"start":201.32,"text":"The former ambassador, Andrey Kelin, left last month after seven years in the post."}],[{"start":206.56,"text":"But the Russian embassy in London added: “As for the state of Russian-British relations across all spheres, their decline to an unprecedentedly low level occurred exclusively at London’s initiative.”"}],[{"start":217.88,"text":"The UK Foreign Office said: “This is a matter for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have an ambassador and embassy in Moscow to engage and raise concerns with the Russian government.”"}],[{"start":232.64,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787541801_3335.mp3"}