The Ukrainian counterattack in the Russia-Ukraine war fell short of attaining its objectives this week and failed to demonstrate the force and momentum Kyiv was aiming for, while at the same time Ukraine’s relations with the NATO allies have turned into a war of words.

Statements made by former British defence secretary Ben Wallace, who resigned last week, were regarded as criticism by the Ukrainians. Wallace said that the UK and NATO could not act as an “Amazon” supplier for weapons for Ukraine, adding that Kyiv should appreciate the support it received from NATO in the form of arms.

Wallace’s remarks were made during the NATO Summit in Vilnius in Lithuania on 11 July. He emphasised the need for “gratitude” from Ukraine, saying that “there is a slight word of caution here, which is that, whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.”

Responding to Wallace’s comments during a press conference at the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “we could wake up in the morning and express our words of gratitude to the minister personally.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quick to dismiss suggestions that London was disturbed by the pressure exerted by Zelensky during the NATO Summit to obtain more weapons. He said that Zelensky had already expressed his gratitude on multiple occasions.

Following the summit, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said the provision of weapons to Ukraine merely served to perpetuate the ongoing conflict. Kyiv described Radev’s words as embodying a conspicuous endorsement of Russian propaganda.

European media pundits said that the airing of such sentiments would not have been made publicly if the Ukrainian forces had not encountered setbacks in their counteroffensive against Russia in the conflict.

Prior to the Vilnius Summit, Zelensky criticised what he said was absurd procrastination in establishing a schedule for the inclusion of his nation in NATO.

He took to Twitter to underscore that the absence of a mutually agreed timeframe could render his country a bargaining tool.

Ongoing negotiations with Russia could see Ukraine’s accession to NATO compromised, and the presence of uncertainty invariably engendered a state of vulnerability, Zelensky added.

Various Western media outlets have attributed the delay in delivering more weapons to Ukraine to disagreements among NATO member states with regard to their stance on Ukraine’s integration into the alliance.

According to the UK Financial Times, Germany and Hungary have expressed opposition to the approach taken by Poland and the Baltic States in deepening the alliance’s relations with Ukraine, citing concerns about an escalating confrontation with Russia.

Some Eastern European countries are hesitant about allocating additional funds to NATO and the conflict with Russia, as they perceive themselves to be the losers in the war.

According to the NATO Charter, countries already engaged in war cannot be included in the alliance, and this could potentially provide Russia with an incentive to prolong the conflict to obstruct Ukraine’s accession.

There are also worries that if Ukraine is refused NATO membership, this could grant Russia more freedom to continue its actions against Kyiv.

“There are countries that want peace and close ties with Russia, not war, even if it is at the expense of Ukraine,” said Ahmed Al-Khamisi, an expert on Russian affairs. He said that Germany depends on cheap Russian gas in order to sell its high-quality products at competitive prices.

“We can’t expect Berlin to sacrifice its industries for the sake of Ukraine,” Al-Khamisi said.

Russia exports not only energy but also food and weapons, which makes it an international supplier that cannot be ignored by the rest of the world. “Any problems in exporting Russian food supplies could lead to the collapse of West Africa, a strong historical ally of France,” Al-Khamisi noted.

“Harming the African Francophone countries would cause major problems for France.”

“Russia has a significant presence in Eastern Europe,” he said. “Culturally, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro tend to favour Russia, as it liberated them from Ottoman colonialism in the 19th century and later.”

Russia liberated Bulgaria twice, once from the Ottomans in the mid-19th century and then from Nazi Germany during World War II.

“This adds another difficulty for Ukraine to join both NATO and the EU, because a number of the members of the two blocs hail from Eastern Europe, and they favour Russia,” Al-Khamisi said.

“There is widespread frustration due to the failure of the counterattack, the dispute over Kyiv’s membership of NATO, and the refusal of some countries to supply Ukraine with weapons, with Zelensky and his government acknowledging the need to carry out broad reforms to meet the requirements for membership in NATO and the EU,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the public is asking about the price to be paid for victory over Russia, or even of stopping the war.”

Ukraine faces immense challenges, such as the widespread emigration of its citizens and extensive damage to its infrastructure. The ongoing war is causing a deepening cycle of public frustration with no clear path to a resolution in sight.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly