President Zelensky fires Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK after he criticised his sarcastic response to Ben Wallace’s suggestion Kyiv should show more gratitude for weapons

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky fired the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadym Prystaiko, on Friday after criticizing the president’s response to a spat over British military aid.

Prystaiko had criticized Zelensky’s sarcastic response to suggestions by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that Ukraine should show greater gratitude for arms supplies from its allies.

Zelensky signed a decree resigning Prystaiko, published on the presidential website. It gave no reason.

The spat began when Wallace told journalists at a NATO summit in Vilnius this month that Britain was not an Amazon arms delivery service to Ukraine and suggested Kiev could express more “gratitude”.

The UK is a major arms donor to Ukraine and also trains its troops.

Zelensky responded to a press conference at the summit, saying he didn’t know how else to express Ukraine’s gratitude.

The Ukrainian diplomat agreed with a Sky News interviewer’s suggestion that Zelensky responded with “a little sarcasm” to Wallace.

I don’t think this sarcasm is healthy. We don’t need to show the Russians that we have something between us, they need to know that we are working together,” Prystaiko added, stressing the need to smooth over relations with the UK.

“If anything happens, Ben can call me and tell me anything he wants,” the diplomat said.

Prystaiko is a career diplomat who has been ambassador to the United Kingdom since July 2020. Previously, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine from 2019 to 2020.

The spat began last week when Wallace said he bluntly told Kiev officials “I’m not an Amazon” when presented with a “shopping list” after an 11-hour drive to visit the war-torn capital.

He further suggested that Kiev had not shown enough “gratitude” for the material support it had received since the February 2022 invasion.

In surprisingly strong remarks at the event in Vilnius, Lithuania, Mr Wallace had told reporters: “There’s a little caveat here, which is that whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.”

“My advice to the Ukrainians… you are persuading countries to give up their own supplies. And yes, the war is a noble war and yes, we see it as waging a war for not only yourself, but for our freedoms.

“But sometimes you have to convince legislators on the hill in America. You have to convince doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it and that it’s worth it and that they’re getting something for it.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak publicly distanced himself from his senior minister’s complaint, saying Mr Zelensky had “expressed his gratitude for what we have done on a number of occasions”.

It came after the Ukrainian war chief expressed frustration at the reluctance of the 31 member states to agree on a tight timetable for NATO membership.

Wallace has since tried to clarify his warning to Ukraine against NATO’s treatment as “Amazon” for weapons, complaining that his controversial comments had been “misinterpreted.”

Instead, he insisted he was merely advising Zelensky that to maintain popular support in the West, the relationship should be a “partnership” rather than “transactional.”

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…