Ukraine’s Western backers are showing increasing frustration with President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning on Wednesday that “people want to see a bit of gratitude,” and pointing out that nations like the United Kingdom aren’t a version of Amazon.com for Zelensky’s weapons demands.
“You know, we’re not Amazon… I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list [of demands].”
– UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
Wallace made the comments in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the NATO alliance it holding its annual summit. Zelensky, though his country is not a NATO member, was in attendance, with Wallace’s comments coming right after Zelensky publicly blasted his benefactors for their “absurd” refusal to grant his country expedited NATO membership.
Instead of saying, “thank you,” Zelensky snapped back Wednesday: “I believe that we were always grateful to the United Kingdom.”
The Biden government has acknowledged that a recent, controversial decision to supply Ukraine with child-killing cluster bombs, outlawed by most countries, was driven in large part by the fact the West is running out of supplies.