The recent summit in Vilnius, Lithuania has caused a great deal of embarrassment and shockwaves for Ukrainian President Zelensky.
He tweeted angrily at NATO allies during the meeting, criticizing their reluctance to issue Kiev guarantees on NATO membership.
It nearly backfired for him as it was seen as an attempt to pressure decision-makers into making a firm statement on Ukraine’s eventual accession.
🇺🇦🇬🇧 #BREAKING: Volodymyr #Zelensky has fired the ambassador to the #UK, Vadym Prystayko, after he called the Ukrainian president's words to #British Defense Minister Ben #Wallace as unhealthy sarcasm#Ukraine #UkraineRussianWar #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/F01YwUuRmU
— Attentive Media (@AttentiveCEE) July 21, 2023
Additionally, he lashed out against the United Kingdom while speaking with reporters at the summit.
Zelensky’s outburst created tension among Western allies and sparked rare criticism from within his own government. Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK was one such critic and he ended up losing his job after daring to speak out against the president.
The Washington Post reported that it almost made NATO officials water down language on Ukraine’s accession even further due to its negative impact at the summit.
Ben Wallace, Britain’s minister had responded to Zelensky’s tweet by suggesting he should show more “gratitude” for all of Britain and other Western nations had done for Ukraine already in terms of arms and funds provided.
In response Zelensky said sarcastically that they could wake up every morning expressing gratitude towards Wallace personally.
We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation.
Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect.But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 11, 2023
This prompted Prystaiko to be interviewed by Sky News where he expressed concern with this behavior saying that sarcasm isn’t healthy when dealing with Russia who have been watching closely how Western allies interact with each other following this incident.
He wanted to smooth over relations between London and Kiev but unfortunately lost his post soon afterwards due to his comments about Zelensky which obviously angered him greatly.
It is clear from what happened between Zelensky, Prystaiko and Wallace that diplomatic relations have become strained between these close Western allies due to reckless behavior by one man – President Zelensky of Ukraine – who threw a tantrum trying desperately (but unsuccessfully) to get what he wanted from NATO leaders at the Vilnius Summit last week .
