Speaking in front of St. Sofia Cathedral in Kyiv to mark the 35th anniversary of the nation’s independence, Burnham said: “This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war.”
He vowed that “despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country we will continue our support for Ukraine.”
Turning up the temperature
Germany’s Merz is facing fresh criticism of his stance from within his own parliamentary group, from his coalition partner, and from the opposition. “It’s a clear sign that both countries are no longer waiting for Germany or relying on Germany in this matter,” CDU/CSU foreign policy politician Roderich Kiesewetter told POLITICO.
He added that the British-French initiative was “a call to Germany that, unfortunately, will once again have no effect and also highlights our limited credibility.”
Merz most recently justified his refusal to supply Taurus missiles during a government question session in the Bundestag in March, stating that his support for the idea, expressed while he was in the opposition, had been made “in a different context” — specifically, when Germany had more Taurus missiles for its own defense.
Yet the move comes at a particularly fraught moment for British relations with Russia, after The Times reports that Moscow has withdrawn its ambassador in London without appointing a replacement.