Ben Wallace, the British defence secretary said “people want to see a bit of gratitude” and Ukraine needed to put more emphasis on saying thank you for western help when he was asked about President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints on Tuesday that the country had not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato. Wallace said Ukrainians’ haste to get all the help they could meant they did not always say they were grateful for the help received. “Whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude,” the minister said at a briefing in the margins of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, distanced himself from Wallace’s comments, saying Zelenskiy has expressed gratitude for UK support. Sunak addressed reporters and appeared not to support the defence minister’s characterisation. He highlighted that President Zelenskiy had expressed gratitude on multiple occasions, including his address to parliament earlier this year. “I know he and his people are grateful to the UK,” said Sunak.
Zelenskiy said he “didn’t understand” Wallace’s comments. He also said “we could express our words of gratitude personally to the minister”.
The G7 signed a declaration outlining support for Ukraine and help towards governance reforms needed for ‘Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The member nations said they would provide security and economic support, including modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea, intelligence sharing and the training of Ukrainian forces in exchange for Ukraine committing to reforms “to underscore its commitments to democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and media freedoms”, “put its economy on a sustainable path” and strengthen “democratic civilian control of the military”.
Nato unveiled a three-part package to bring Ukraine ‘closer’ to the alliance. Speaking on Wednesday morning, Jens Stoltenberg said the plan will establish “a new Nato-Ukraine council, reaffirming that Ukraine will become a member of Nato and removing the requirement for the membership action plans”.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sweden’s Nato accession will not be put to Turkish parliament until autumn when it re-opens. Speaking at a news conference after the Nato summit in Vilnius, Erdogan said that Sweden would provide a roadmap for Turkey regarding the steps to take against purported terrorism before the ratification.
An 81-year-old man was killed after shelling in Kherson. His 82-year-old wife was wounded in shelling of the southern city of Kherson, the region’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram on Wednesday.
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has told CNN that Ukraine joining Nato now “would mean war with Russia” during a media round where he expressed support for the alliance’s caution. Speaking to MSNBC, Sullivan said the US president, Joe Biden, will be “straightforward” with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who are due to meet each other today.
