President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Ambassador to the Court of St. James – Vadym Prystaiko – has been fired by the Ukrainian president for admitting Zelensky should not have responded with “unhealthy sarcasm” when asked to show more gratitude by Western leaders.
Speaking at the recent NATO summit in Lithuania, Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said “people want to see a bit of gratitude” from the Ukrainian government. He complained of making an eleven-hour journey to Ukraine only to be presented with a list of more demands for money and materiel, and having to push back: “I’m not Amazon.”
“How else can we show our gratitude? We can wake up in the morning and thank the minister,” Zelensky publicly mocked, in response to Wallace. “Let him write to me and tell me how to thank him.”
Zelensky’s own Ambassador pushed back against the entitled and petulant behavior of the man who has been accused of intervening in military decisions to the detriment of his country’s war effort.
“I don’t believe this sarcasm is healthy,” Prystaiko said. “I don’t think we need to show the Russians there is something between us. We’re working together, Ben [Wallace] can call me and tell me anything he wants to.”
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