UK minister warns West 'not Amazon' delivery service for Ukraine weapons
The British defense secretary has said the West is not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons shipment to Ukraine, in an extraordinary snub of Ukraine’s repeated requests for more arms to fight against Russia.
Ben Wallace said Kiev needed to show gratitude for Western weapons donations and to persuade some doubting politicians in Washington and other capitals that the tens of billions of dollars they are spending on military aid to the country for its war with Russia are worthwhile.
"You have got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that it is worth it, it's worthwhile and they are getting something for it," Wallace told British media on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Wallace recalled that after receiving a list of weapons requests from Ukraine last year, he told officials in Kiev "I am not Amazon."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked about Wallace's comments at his summit press conference and responded in an exasperated tone.
"I believe that we were always grateful to the United Kingdom. We are always grateful to the prime minister -- or to prime ministers -- and to the minister of defense," he told reporters.
Western countries have so far provided or committed to providing Kiev with tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for more military assistance, notably long-range weapons. Kiev has also frequently asked to be admitted into NATO over the past months.
The US and its allies unveiled new security assurances for Ukraine at the NATO summit on Wednesday, vowing to offer "enduring" military support to help Ukraine with the war.
The pledge came a day after Zelensky decried as "absurd" a refusal to offer an invitation or timetable for Ukraine's entry into NATO.
Russia, which says NATO's eastward expansion is an existential threat to its own security, has lashed out at the West’s support for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "potentially very dangerous" for the West to give Ukraine security guarantees.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, said increasing military assistance to Ukraine by NATO was bringing closer a World War Three.
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