Zelensky dismisses his ambassador in London for criticizing his "sarcasm"

Volodymir Zelensky has dismissed Vadym Prystaiko as ambassador in London for criticizing the “sarcasm” with which the Ukrainian president responded in a dialectical exchange with British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace during the recent NATO summit in Vilnius.

Ben Wallace initially criticized Zelensky, warning that the United Kingdom and the United States “are not Amazon”, in reference to his insistent request for more weapons to deal with Russian aggression.. The British minister then added: “People would like to see a little more gratitude for the Western military contributions to the Ukrainian war effort.”

Zelenski replied with visible bewilderment to Wallace's words. “I don't know what you mean,” he said.. “How else can we thank you? You can write to me and tell me how we can give thanks to be fully grateful. We can also wake you up in the morning and personally say, “Thank you, Minister.”

The “premier” Rishi Sunak had to mediate in the exchange of words and was forced to distance himself from the statements of his Secretary of Defense so as not to hurt Zelenski's sensibilities. The initial disagreement, however, gave way to a cordial meeting between the British and Ukrainian delegations in the Lithuanian capital.

Vadym Prystaiko, ambassador to the United Kingdom since July 2020, dared to comment on his president's words addressed to his British ally: “I don't think that sarcasm is healthy.”

“We don't have to show the Russians that there are differences between us,” added the Ukrainian diplomat.. “They have to know that we are working together. If something happens, Ben (Wallace) can call me and tell me what he wants.”

The absence of Prystaiko in the diplomatic mission in London drew attention throughout this week. The announcement of his dismissal, without specifying the cause, was made official on Friday on the Ukrainian government website.

Also on Friday, Oleksandr Tkachenko announced his resignation as Urkanian culture minister over “a wave of misunderstandings about the importance of wartime culture.”. His resignation came hours after Zelensky himself called for his dismissal in a conversation with Prime Minister Deys Shmyhal.

“In times of war, the maximum attention and the maximum resources must be devoted to defense,” stressed the president (and former actor) in a television address to the nation. “People need to know that our budget resources are being used fairly and appropriately.. Museums, cultural centers, symbols and television series…. All of that is important, but now we have other priorities.”

“During the war, private and public funds for culture are no less important than drones, because culture is the shield of our identity and our borders,” replied the resigning minister.

Apparently, his disagreement with Zelensky was due to his decision to allocate the equivalent of 11 million euros for television series and another 12 million for the construction of a museum to commemorate the “holodomor”, the famine of 1932-33 in which millions of Ukrainians died and which Kiev considers a “deliberate genocide” by Stalin and the Soviet authorities.

“The suffering caused by Moscow for decades on the Ukrainians must be reflected in a museum,” Oleksandr Tkachenko told an American broadcaster.. “If someone says that we shouldn't build a museum during the war, let them give us arguments other than that we're going to need it for reconstruction.. There are funds to do it.”