UK gives Ukraine Stone Cloak anti-drone tech at Zelenskyy visit
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- Zelenskyy will meet British PM Andy Burnham at a naval base in England on Monday — the first visit by a foreign leader since Burnham took office a week ago and the latest in a string of trips by Ukraine's president to shore up Western backing
- Burnham will be the fifth British prime minister to engage with Zelenskyy since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion; the former nine-year mayor of Greater Manchester has little foreign policy experience but pledged "unwavering" support for Ukraine
- Britain will hand Ukraine the intellectual property behind its new "Stone Cloak" electronic warfare system, which blocks drones from being detected, during a meeting with more than 200 Ukrainian troops who have spent three weeks in Britain training on Black Sea war-fighting and countermine tactics
- Ukraine has escalated deep strikes inside Russia, targeting oil facilities, military factories and logistical centers; Russia fired back overnight with 147 long-range strike drones, of which 123 were intercepted or jammed, according to the Ukrainian air force
- Iran vowed retaliation after Ukraine struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing a sailor; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced it as a "blatant U.N. Charter violation done at Israel's behest" and said he warned EU and Russian counterparts the attack "can't go unanswered"
- Zelenskyy said Ukraine's Caspian strikes targeted "vessels involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran, as well as a warship" and produced "very good results," while Russian defenses in Moscow reported downing 276 Ukrainian drones overnight
Why it matters: Britain is transferring the IP for a new electronic warfare system specifically designed to counter drone detection — a direct response to the daily drone exchanges now defining the conflict, in which Russia fired 147 long-range drones overnight and Ukraine struck an Iranian cargo vessel in the Caspian, drawing Tehran's threat of retaliation.
