'Active animosity': How Zelensky's faux pas are alienating Kiev allies
4 Min Read
According to George Byczynski of the Telegraph, Ukraine's ingratitude and public confrontation with its allies will only make other nations that currently support it reconsider their stance.
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Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, right, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as they meet in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (AP)
George Byczynski wrote for The Telegraph that while on the frontlines, Ukrainians show extreme appreciation and gratitude for Ukrainian allied countries, however, the same sentiment is "absent" from diplomatic discussions.
According to Byczynski, the chief advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poland, Zelensky's recent accusations of Poland and other European nations collaborating with "a Moscow agent" has disappointed many Poles and other nations and left them feeling a sense of resentment.
Byczynski is not alone in his observations as even Ben Wallace and Jake Sullivan formerly expressed Kiev should show some appreciation.
He also recalls how Zelensky's advisors recently described India as "weak intellectual potential."
Although Byczynski says the Ukrainian leadership is under understandable stress, the recent "diplomatic missteps" could damage their support from allied nations who have paid a hefty price both economically and diplomatically to help support them.
At a NATO conference in Vilnius in July, members asserted and vowed that Ukraine's future would be part of NATO, but Zelensky was dissatisfied with the outcome, calling it "absurd" and demanding respect.
The US was infuriated afterward, according to sources cited by The Washington Post.
Diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Poland escalated in August as Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Polish ambassador Bartosz Cichocki to Kiev to address "unacceptable" comments made by Polish Secretary of State Marcin Przydacz, who accused Ukraine of ingratitude for the help extended by Poland.
Zelensky's actions 'perplexing'
Most recently, the prime minister of Poland announced an end to arms shipments to Ukraine in an effort to prioritize their own defense. However, the decision came right after Warsaw called in Ukraine's ambassador, leading to a dispute over grain exports.
Byczynski calls Zelensky's actions "perplexing," seeing how the Polish ambassador was the only ambassador who remained in Kiev since the beginning of the war and pointed to how Poland accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine took legal action against Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary by filing lawsuits at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over their bans on Ukrainian grain imports.
He also recalls the very hefty military aid Poland extended to Ukraine, including over 300 tanks, when Germany was showing hesitation and considering sending "old helmets".
Byczynski believes that after all the aid Kiev has received from Poland, it is not wise for them to jeopardize their agricultural sector in order to boost the profits of Ukrainian farmers.
Ukraine ignores dialogue, initiates animosities with friends
He also recalls that in 2022, Brussels gave access to Kiev to enter the European market without membership in the EU.
Afterward, the EU banned imports into Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, although transit through these countries was permitted to continue. The EU unexpectedly revoked the prohibition, much to the surprise of the five nations. As a result, these countries either renewed the bans individually or made accords with Ukraine.
The advisor expresses that rather than seeking dialogue, Zelensky and the Ukrainian grain magnates chose public confrontation and legal action, which, in his opinion, not only represents a blatant lack of gratitude but also means "the initiation of animosities" with faithful allies who stood with Ukraine during its darkest hours.
Byczynski warns that if Ukraine continues this behavior, allies paying a hefty price to support them may reconsider, echoing the words of Oleksiy Arestovich, a former advisor to Zelensky.
Arestovich called Ukraine's behavior a "self-destructive political spiral."
He hopes that Zelensky will realize trade wars and legal action against allies will not make them victorious against Russia.
