Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked Vadym Prystaiko, his ambassador to the United Kingdom, on Friday. The decision comes after days of criticism with respect to Prystaiko’s remarks on outgoing UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. The Ukrainian presidency website confirmed Prystaiko’s dismissal, however, no official reason was provided for this move. As of now, there has been no replacement of Prystaiko.
What led to Prystaiko’s dismissal?
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had recently suggested that Ukraine did not express enough “gratitude” for Western financial support.
To this, Zelensky responded by saying that Ukraine has always been grateful to Britain. According to The Indian Express report, the British media also quoted Zelensky saying that Wallace can let him know how to express gratitude or how “we could get up in the morning and express our words of gratitude to the minister.”
In an interview with Sky News, Prystaiko was asked whether Zelensky was being sarcastic, to which he responded by saying that there was “a little bit of sarcasm” when the president “said that each and every morning he will wake up and call Ben Wallace to thank him.”
He further said that this kind of sarcasm wasn’t healthy, adding that it is important for Russia to know that the West is working together with Ukraine.
“We don’t have to show the Russians that we have something between us. They have to know that we are working together. If anything happens, Ben can call me and tell me everything he wants,” CNN quoted Prystaiko as saying.