U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski had a tense telephone conversation in June in which the U.S. president even raised his voice to demand that his counterpart show some gratitude for the aid received instead of constantly demanding more, according to sources quoted by NBC News.
Biden then told him that the United States had just authorized more military assistance to Ukraine, to the tune of 1 billion dollars, but Zelenski responded with a list of additional demands, which apparently made the White House tenant lose his temper, according to sources familiar with this conversation.
The US President then defended the generosity of his Administration and of the US Army and population, and then demanded more gratitude from his interlocutor, with whom he has always publicly claimed to have a close relationship.
Zelenski’s team supposedly decided after this tense conversation to work to relax the frictions and, in fact, that same day thanked Washington for the help provided. Biden, for his part, then reiterated that he would not stop helping Ukraine «as they fight for their freedom.»
The U.S. president is facing increasing opposition in Congress to continue approving funds to Ukraine practically indefinitely, at a time when Zelenski is demanding more military aid, mainly anti-aircraft defense systems, to face the constant Russian attacks and to continue advancing in the east.
Interest and concern about the Ukrainian war among U.S. citizens is also reportedly suffering, according to polls. Those who are very or extremely concerned about the conflict have dropped from 55 percent to 38 percent in less than five months, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
