Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadym Prystaiko on Friday, days after criticism of his remarks regarding comments by UK Defence Secretary, CNN reported.
A statement published Friday on the Ukrainian presidency’s website confirmed Prystaiko’s dismissal, however, did not provide a reason.
Notably, Prystaiko had criticized Zelenskyy over his reaction to recent remarks by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who had suggested Ukraine had not expressed sufficient “gratitude” for Western financial support.
Prystaiko said Zelensky’s response to Wallace amounted to “unhealthy sarcasm”, CNN reported.
The tension began at a NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this month when Wallace said that “whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude for the West’s military contributions to Ukraine’s war effort”.
“I said to the Ukrainians last June when I drove 11 hours to be given a list – I’m not Amazon,” CNN quoted Wallace as saying.
When asked about those remarks by a reporter at the NATO summit, Zelenskyy was ‘nonplussed’.
“I just don’t know what he means. How else should we thank him? Well, let him write to me and tell me how I need to thank people so that we can be fully grateful. We can also wake up in the morning and thank the minister personally,” CNN quoted Zelenskyy as saying.
Prystaiko was interviewed about the exchange the following day, where he was asked whether there was a “hint of sarcasm” in Zelenskyy’s response to Wallace. Responding to this, Prystaiko conceded there was “a little bit of sarcasm,” and went on to say: “I don’t believe this sarcasm is healthy.”
“We don’t have to show the Russians that we have something between us. They have to know that we are working together. If anything happens, Ben can call me and tell me everything he wants,” CNN quoted Prystaiko as saying.
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