Ukraine faces consequences of Zelensky’s rude behavior – The Telegraph

Ukraine is at risk of losing allies due to the behavior of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This information appears according to an article in The Telegraph.

Attacks on Poland and other Eastern European countries that have banned the import of Ukrainian grain are seen as his “most glaring mistake,” according to the article’s author, George Bychinsky.

“When I delivered aid to the Kherson region, Dnipro, and Kharkiv, I was struck by the warmth and gratitude of the Ukrainian people. When we showed our Polish and British passports, border guard Igor greeted us with the words, ‘Welcome, you are ours.’ Soldiers shook our hands and expressed gratitude for supporting their country in difficult times. An elderly woman named Irina, who had lost her home and relatives in Kherson, cried and hugged us,” Bychinsky writes.

However, such an approach is strangely absent in diplomatic discussions. Recent labels directed at Poland (and other Central and Eastern European countries) by President Zelensky deeply sadden the Poles and their allies. They feel a sense of betrayal. Ukraine is engaged in fierce combat actions, but its president seems more intent on bickering with its allies.

Zelensky’s words increasingly sound ungrateful to many. Not long ago, then-UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine should show at least a little gratitude. He was echoed by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. India will not soon forget the comments of one of Zelensky’s advisors about the “low intellectual potential” of a country with 1.5 billion people.

“It is quite clear that the Ukrainian leadership has been fighting and experiencing immense stress for nineteen months already. But this series of diplomatic tactlessness is not only troubling but also threatens to weaken the support of allies who have already paid a high price in terms of assistance and weapons, while suffering economic losses,” Bychinsky adds.

According to him, the most egregious of mistakes is the hasty trade dispute that Ukraine engaged in with Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Poland, for instance, steadfastly supported Ukraine from the very beginning of the hostilities. The Polish ambassador in Kyiv was the only one who remained in the capital throughout the conflict, and his country opened its doors to millions of Ukrainian refugees, providing them with food and shelter in an unprecedented show of solidarity.

“I vividly remember a conversation with UN officials at the Polish-Ukrainian border in February 2022. They said they had never seen such a powerful influx of assistance, both from governments and ordinary citizens,” the author notes.

Poland also supported Ukraine militarily, sending over 300 tanks to aid its besieged ally and pressuring Western Europe to provide drones, tanks, and fighter jets while Germany hesitated and pondered the delivery of old helmets.

And after all this, Zelensky considered it reasonable to insinuate that Poland and its neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe cooperate with Moscow! This has only evoked bewilderment, as have his attempts to pressure these countries into importing Ukrainian grain.

For countries that have done so much for Kyiv, the desire to shield their own populations from some of the costs seems perfectly reasonable. Poland cannot jeopardize its agriculture just to help Ukrainian farmers sell their produce in Warsaw rather than Paris.

In 2022, when the war in Ukraine began, Brussels granted Kyiv access to the entire European market, even without EU membership, which was a significant boon. This led to an almost threefold increase in grain imports to Poland and prompted reasonable protests from farmers. Unlike their newfound competitors, they were not exempt from burdensome EU regulations and had a tough time.

In the end, the EU banned grain imports to Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania but allowed transit through these countries, much to their surprise. In response, these countries either unilaterally reinstated the bans or entered into bilateral agreements with Ukraine.

And Zelensky and Ukrainian grain magnates chose public confrontation and lawsuits through the World Trade Organization instead of constructive dialogue. This is no longer just ingratitude; it is the beginning of hostility with loyal friends who supported Ukraine in its darkest hours.

If this approach continues, countries that have borne significant costs for Ukraine may reconsider their views or weaken their support. Former Zelensky advisor Alexei Arestovich stated that Ukraine is entering a self-destructive political spiral. My colleagues from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry have apologized to me for their government’s tone toward Poland.

One can only hope that the Ukrainian leadership realizes the reality: disputes and trade wars with allies are by no means the path to victory over Russia.