Ukraine’s ambassador to UK dismissed after criticising Zelenskiy | Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed Ukraine’s ambassador to London after a row over the Ukrainian president being asked to be more grateful for the military help the west was providing to his country.

Vadym Prystaiko’s dismissal was announced in a presidential order, with no official reason being given. He has also been removed as Ukraine’s representative to the International Maritime Organization.

A row between the two men blew up after Prystaiko went on Sky News to question some of Zelenskiy’s behaviour around this month’s Nato summit, including after remarks by the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, suggesting the Ukrainians were treating the west as though it was Amazon.

Prystaiko was asked by Sky News if there was a hint of sarcasm in Zelenskiy’s promise that “each and every morning we’ll wake up and call Ben Wallace to thank him”.

He answered: “I don’t think that kind of sarcasm is healthy. We don’t have to show the Russians there is something between us. They have to know we are working together. If something happens, Ben can call me and tell me everything he wants.”

In the same interview, he pointed out that Britain had begged the US to send troops during the second world war, and in the end they did. But he added: “We are not expecting anyone to fight for us – we are only asking for equipment.”

It is highly unusual for a diplomat to criticise their national leaders in public, but Prystaiko clearly felt damage had been done to the relationship between Ukraine and its closest western partner that required repairing.

Immediately before his arrival at the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskiy had been in a combative mood, sending out a statement on social media that it would be absurd if Nato did not provide Ukraine with some kind of date or timeline by which it would be invited to join the organisation. The summit’s communique, largely at US and German insistence, that was released later did not give a firm timetable or clear conditions for its membership.

Zelenskiy was subsequently given a dressing down by the US delegation and it was noticeable that on the second day of the summit, the Ukrainian president was studious in conveying his thanks – to the point of being solicitous – for the arms supplied. It is an acknowledged balancing act for Ukraine: to express gratitude for help being given while at the same time making clear the urgent need for the west to supply more effective arms, including planes.

Nevertheless, tensions with the west have simmered, with some Ukrainians of the view that not enough is being said about their troops dying on the battlefield every day – not only to regain their sovereignty, but to defend western values.

Prystaiko apparently had a difficult phone call with his president on Thursday that ended with his dismissal. He had been ambassador since June 2020 and was previously a foreign minister. In private he has always been skilled at conveying messages, often saying the biggest barrier he faced in seeking to secure more arms and support was western fear of Russian escalation.

Prystaiko, a former Ukrainian representative to Nato, has clashed over Wallace before, including immediately before the invasion when he said the British defence secretary was creating a sense of panic by suggesting there was a whiff of Munich-style appeasement in the air among some western allies.

He has also been frank in admitting that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not been as successful as some hoped. “We are trying to understand where their defences are weakest. It is not as spectacular as everyone, including the Ukrainians, wanted to see it.”

His dismissal, alongside the expected departure of Wallace as defence secretary, means there will be major changes in a key part of the UK-Ukraine axis at a critical time for the offensive.

Prystaiko also caused waves in an interview with Newsweek in January in which he suggested Ukraine was suffering large losses. He said Ukraine was losing people “on the right and on the left”, and the numbers were “very large”.

“We’ve been at war for almost a year now. We’re losing people left and right. We don’t explain how many of the casualties were military or civilian, but you can imagine the numbers are huge,” Prystaiko told Newsweek.

In a later interview, he said “I understand from my contacts within the higher echelons of military power in Ukraine that losses are high, but not as high as the Russians. It was a clever move on our side not to advertise our losses,” he added.

He also suggested Ukraine would be put under pressure to leave Crimea to Russia. “The prevailing way of thinking is that Crimea will be a specific point at which we’ll have to think twice,” he said. He added: “I like the idea that the east is not an issue – we will have to free it. When we come to the point of liberating Crimea, we will think twice.”