Zelenskyy to visit Britain in first visit by a foreign leader since Burnham took office

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at a naval base in England on Monday, a visit Burnham said is intended to signal the U.K.'s “unwavering” support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy's trip is the first by a foreign leader since Burnham took office a week ago. His predecessor, Keir Starmer, was in Kyiv less than two weeks ago in his last overseas trip before leaving office.

Burnham will be the fifth British prime minister to deal with the Ukrainian president since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down until we achieve long lasting and just peace for Ukraine,” said Burnham, who has spent the past nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester and has little foreign policy experience.

During the visit, Zelenskyy and Burnham will meet more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel who have spent the past three weeks in Britain. They have been taking part in an exercise aimed at strengthening war-fighting capabilities and countermine measures in the Black Sea, the U.K. government said.

The U.K. will give Ukraine the intellectual property behind its new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system, which blocks drones from being detected, Burnham’s office said.

Ukraine has expanded its campaign of deep strikes with increasingly frequent drone attacks inside Russia that have targeted oil facilities, military factories and, most recently, logistical centers, bringing war home to millions of Russians and raising pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

The raids have shattered Putin’s narrative of the conflict as something that doesn’t affect the lives of ordinary people in his country. But Putin has remained undeterred and Russia has ramped up its aerial campaign, regularly bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones.

Russia again attacked Ukraine overnight with 147 long-range strike drones, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said 123 drones were intercepted or jammed.

In Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and two injured in a series of attacks at the city that damaged a high-rise residential buildings and several private residences overnight, according to regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.

In Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian strikes damaged a kindergarten, residential buildings and infrastructure injuring a woman and a 6-years old boy, according to administration head Oleksandr Hanzha.

In Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 276 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The Rostov region’s governor, Yuri Slyusar, said a family couple died when a Ukrainian drone hit an apartment building in Rostov-on-Don. Five others were injured in a drone attack on the city, he said.

In the city of Belgorod, a Ukrainian drone attack injured 12, including two children, according to regional emergency officials.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Ukraine struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian, killing a sailor.

In a statement on X on Sunday, Araghchi denounced the attack as a “blatant U.N. Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.” He said he made it clear in calls with the European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the attack “can't go unanswered.”

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea over the weekend achieved “very good results,” adding that the targets included “vessels involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran, as well as a warship.”

Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

In this photo taken Saturday, July 25, 2026 Ukrainian soldiers of Khartia brigade prepare a ground drone for a mission in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a supermarket following a Russian drone attack in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service shows a damaged supermarket after Russian drone strikes in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to staff and media at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks od during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ROME (AP) — Andrea Pirlo is no longer in line to coach crisis-hit Italy due to political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.

Pirlo himself confirmed that he was out in an Instagram post Monday, saying he “heard last night that I’m no longer the candidate for the Italy national team job.”

Several Italian politicians had raised concerns about Pirlo’s contract to be an ambassador for Fonbet, saying the national team coach should not have conflicting views on Italy’s support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Pirlo, who had been prepared to leave his current job as coach of Dubai United, was an unpopular choice after unsuccessful stints coaching Juventus and Sampdoria.

Pirlo said the Fonbet deal was linked to his job in the United Arab Emirates and is “exclusively for commercial and sports” purposes.

“Attributing a political significance to that collaboration means attributing beliefs to me that I have never expressed and don't belong to me,” Pirlo added.

Pirlo was at best a third choice after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola turned down offers to coach a team that has failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups.

Now former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte are back being discussed for the job.

Gennaro Gattuso left as Italy’s coach by mutual consent in April after Italy was beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup qualifying playoff.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Juventus' head coach Andrea Pirlo stands on the pitch during warmup before the Champions League round of 16, first leg, soccer match between FC Porto and Juventus in Porto, Portugal, on Feb. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira, File)