Ukraine: Britain’s Defence Secretary and the US National Security Adviser have stated that Ukraine ought to show more gratitude for the help it has received from the west, in response to Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints that his country has not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining NATO.
The officials’ comments during separate events on the sidelines of the second day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, seemed to influence a shift in the Ukrainian leader’s stance. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to all leaders of NATO countries for their support and assistance.
Mr. Ben Wallace, the UK Defence Secretary, commented that “whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude” when asked about Mr. Zelenskiy’s frustration at not being presented with a formal invitation to join NATO, and he advised Ukraine that it might help if it took a different approach.
“Sometimes you’re persuading countries to give up their own stocks [of munitions]. Sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America. You’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that, you know, it’s worthwhile,” Mr. Wallace added. According to the UK Defence Secretary, it was not the first time he had spoken to Kyiv about this.
Mr. Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, argued that “the American people do deserve a degree of gratitude”, in response to a pointed question from a Ukrainian activist who asked if Mr. Joe Biden was withholding NATO membership because he was “afraid of Russia losing, afraid of Ukraine winning.”
Mr. Sullivan clearly noted that “the United States of America has stepped up to provide an enormous amount of capacity to help ensure that Ukraine’s brave soldiers have the ammunition, air defence, infantry, fighting vehicles, and mine-clearing equipment.”
The two men’s similar language suggested a degree of coordination and marked a rare check on Ukraine’s repeated requests for military and diplomatic help at a summit designed to step up western support for Kviv but without offering it an immediate pathway to NATO membership, which could lead to a direct war with Russia.
Mr. Zelenskiy has previously complained on social media that it was “absurd” for Kyiv to be told it would be welcome in the alliance but not given a date or exact conditions. But on Wednesday, attending the NATO meeting in person, Ukraine’s leader sought to lighten the tone.
“The outcome of the leaders summit in Vilnius is a very much needed and meaningful success for Ukraine. I am grateful to all leaders in all NATO countries for their very practical and unprecedented support,” Mr. Zelenskiy stated, standing alongside Mr. Biden,Mr. Rishi Sunak, and other G7 leaders.
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