Aleksey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has insulted a senior Chinese diplomat during a live interview by playing on the similarity between his name and a Ukrainian swear word.
Danilov rebuked Beijing’s special representative on Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, on national TV on Wednesday after the diplomat visited Kiev earlier this month. According to Politico’s sources, he “amplified” a message that his government may boycott international talks on the Ukraine conflict, which Kiev wants to convene without Russia in Switzerland.
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During the interview, the Ukrainian official angrily declared that it is up to his nation to decide its fate, and not “some Hui, or whatever his name is.” One of the co-hosts smirked and covered her mouth with her hand, reacting to the play on words.
In Ukrainian and Russian, the name resembles a swear word for male genitalia.
The security chief has been known to resort to combative and abrasive rhetoric. Last month, he said in an interview that EU nations should give all their heavy weapons to Kiev, explaining that they won’t need them in the kind of warfare the future holds for them.
In November, he called for a crackdown on officials who disparage Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky while talking to Western journalists on condition of anonymity.
Danilov was commenting on a piece published in Time magazine, which described growing frustration in Ukraine with the president and his refusal to consider peace talks with Russia despite setbacks on the battlefield.