Why does Ukraine keep being rude over foreign aid?
Tom Rogan
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It’s understandable that Ukraine wants to maximize its access to effective weapons and maximal financial aid. Russia aims to annihilate Ukraine’s sovereign existence, after all.
What is less clear is why Ukrainian officials are acting increasingly rude and petulant when some of their greatest foreign partners ask for a little more gratitude. Consider what happened on Tuesday, for example.
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The Polish president’s international policy office chief, Marcin Przydacz, observed that “it would be worthwhile for [Ukraine] to start appreciating the role Poland has played for Ukraine over the past months and years.” This is a reference to the $4.3 billion Poland has committed to Ukraine since the February 2022 start of Russia’s invasion.
In response, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s ambassador. The ministry said it had “emphasized that statements about the alleged ingratitude of Ukrainians for Poland’s help are untrue and unacceptable. … Politics should not call into question mutual understanding and strength of relations between our peoples.”
Andrii Sybiha, an official in Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential office, went further in a Facebook post. He observed that “When Ukraine is at war, trying to ‘bargain’ something more from it is tantamount to treachery, which should have no place in our relations. … There is nothing worse than having your rescuer demand a rescue fee from you even when you are bleeding.”
Sybiha’s “bargain” claim is a reference to Warsaw’s pressure on Ukraine to cut agricultural exports to Poland. With parliamentary elections due this winter, the Polish government is concerned by growing anger on the part of domestic farmers over being undercut by cheaper Ukrainian produce. Thus far, Zelensky has adamantly refused to cut a deal that would restrict these exports. As Russia continues to restrict Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea, Ukraine’s land-based grain exports have become even more critical to its economy.
Yet the issue here is not that Ukraine wants to avoid painful sacrifices to its export economy. Instead, it’s the manner by which Ukrainian officials are willing to exacerbate diplomatic spats without regard for the support that foreign governments have provided them. It’s not just Poland that has suffered Ukraine’s wrath when questions have been asked over gratitude.
U.K. defense secretary Ben Wallace said last month that he had been frustrated after traveling “11 hours to be given a list [of new weapons requests by Ukraine].” Wallace said he had told the Ukrainians “that I’m not like Amazon.” Providing $10.8 billion in commitments, second only to the U.S. provision, the U.K. has been one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters. London has also taken action in Ukraine’s support that even Washington has been unwilling to match. Again, however, Ukraine was willing to quietly accept Wallace’s mild complaint.
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Zelensky responded, “I just don’t know what [Wallace] means. How else should we thank him? Well, let him write to me and tell me how I need to thank people so that we can be fully grateful. We can also wake up in the morning and thank the minister personally.” When Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K. attempted to cool obvious British anger over this riposte, describing Zelensky’s words as “unhealthy sarcasm,” Zelensky promptly fired him.
I understand that numerous other Western governments have pushed Ukraine to show more public gratitude. This is seen as important in consolidating domestic populations in support of continued aid.
Top line: it’s understandable that Ukraine believes it deserves the free world’s expansive help in resisting a brutal and utterly unjustified invasion. But by reflexively lashing out whenever even mild requests for greater thanks are made, Ukraine does no service to its own interests. Indeed, it only makes it less likely that future aid will be as generous.