Andy Burnham would not back suggestions that the US has betrayed Ukraine, and insisted the UK would continue to build bridges with Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister was asked by reporters if he agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s assessment that Mr Trump had betrayed his country by curbing its access to a vital Starlink satellite communications system.
The past week has seen a deterioration in relations between Washington and Kyiv after Mr Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel in the face of rising fuel prices.
Speaking during a visit to the North West, Mr Burnham said: “I was proud of the reception that the UK gave to the Ukrainian president yesterday. It was actually quite emotional to be in Downing Street and hear the cheers for him coming through the gates and coming through the Foreign Office. It was quite amazing actually, and I could see how personally moved he was by that.
“Obviously, it’s been a difficult few days for President Zelensky, and that’s why I invited him to the UK to give him that lift, and to see what more we could do. We obviously have close conversations with our US counterparts, and what I’m going to do is build that bridge and make sure that we’re still all working together to support Ukraine.
“President Trump called for an energy ceasefire, President Zelensky immediately said he would engage in that immediately, and what has Russia done in the last few days? It’s been bombing energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
“So it is quite clear once again to the world who the aggressor is in this conflict, and we will use whatever influence we have got as the UK to bring the parties together behind President Zelensky and Ukraine.”
Volodymyr Zelensky visited Downing Street on Wednesday (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
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Meanwhile, Downing Street has declined to say if it will review its use of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites after the billionaire was accused of imposing a speed limit on its terminals mounted on Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine relies on Starlink for defence against aerial attacks and targeting long-range drones against military sites in Russia.
Asked if there were any plans for the British military to conduct a review, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: “We use a range of providers and capability across our network for satellite communications to ensure that we have resilience.
Mr Burnham was asked about Ukraine during a visit to the North West on Thursday (Gary Oakley/PA)
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She continued: “The Prime Minister is clear who is at fault here, and that is President Putin. He has ignored calls for an energy ceasefire and repeatedly refused to engage in meaningful negotiations.”
Mr Musk has said the military version of Starlink is controlled by the US government, placing the blame for the disruption with the Pentagon and, ultimately, Donald Trump.
Ukraine attacked a refinery in the Russian region of Ryazan on Thursday, hours after Mr Zelensky said a brief truce rejected by Moscow was over.