Diplomacy! Ukraine Tells Critics of Slow Counter Offensive to ‘Shut Up’

Critics of the slow progress of the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion are spitting in the face of Ukrainian soldiers and should “shut up”, lest they want to try taking up arms against Moscow themselves, Ukraine has said.

In another instance of Ukraine appearing to snap at its allies and backers, Kyiv’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made caustic remarks at a conference in Spain on Thursday. Dismissing the concerns of those who discuss the apparent failure of the ‘Spring’ offensive to turn back the Russian war machine now as Autumn approaches, Kuleba said while sharing the podium with his Spanish counterpart:

Criticizing the slow pace of counteroffensive equals to spitting into the face of Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometer of Ukrainian soil after another… I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves.

Kuleba also used his platform to call for more deliveries of military equipment, modifying his tone slightly to tell Germany to send long-range missiles. POLITICO reports he continued: “I constructively, kindly, without putting any pressure, call on the government of Germany to make this decision that makes sense.”

The minister also made a plea for more European nations to hand over their F-16 fighter jets, joining donations so far by Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway. Earlier this week, the Ukrainian government through its airforce spokesman restated its view that receiving the jets would allow it to clear the skies of Russian aircraft and more effectively turn back the invasion.

Colonel Yurii Ihnat said: “We have a very large area of hostilities, and today’s front line, including Belarus, Transnistria, maritime borders and the sea – it is also the front line, as warships attack from there, – exceeds 2,000 kilometers. Thus, it is necessary to realize that [F-16s] are needed everywhere to cover the state inside and attack the enemy”. Ihnat said the first group of Ukrainian pilots had now left the country and started F-16 training, and he hoped two more groups would be ready soon.

The progress of the counteroffensive has evidently become a sore point for Ukraine on the global stage, and it being brought up can elicit testy responses from Ukrainian leaders. This has been addressed by President Zelensky himself, who admitted that things were going slower than desired, but nevertheless blamed foreign hopes for things to speed up on a diet of Hollywood movies, which he said made war seem easy.

He said in June: “Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best… Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not.”

President Zelensky was also involved in an earlier case of biting remarks addressed to Ukraine’s military underwriters earlier this year, when offering a word of advice the United Kingdom suggested Ukraine could stand to be more grateful to its supporters and say thank you occasionally. Rather than taking the advice, Zelensky appeared to bite back, responding sarcastically that from now on he would telephone the United Kingdom every day to thank them.

The fallout over the remarks led to Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom being sacked, as he was seen to have shown some sympathy for the British point of view in the controversy, which was seen in Kyiv as a betrayal of President Zelensky.

In another case of ill-tempered remarks, Poland joined the United Kingdom in reminding Ukraine of the enormous monetary cost of the support given to the nation, prompting Kuleba’s foreign ministry to issue a statement calling the Polish view “unacceptable”. A Ukrainian diplomat accused Poland — one of Ukraine’s most enthusiastic allies — of taking Russia’s side by making the comments.