Mendel's revelation about Zelenskyy: personal revenge or betrayal of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team appears poised to go down in Ukrainian history as the administration with perhaps the highest number of corruption scandals and reputational setbacks. On May 12, when the news cycle “exploded” with the filing of charges against former Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, Yulia Mendel stepped into the spotlight.
In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson—who spoke with Russian dictator Putin in 2024—Zelenskyy’s former press secretary did not merely criticize the Ukrainian president; she openly “slandered” him and revealed unprecedented details about his life. Who is Mendel, and which of her statements against Zelenskyy have outraged the public the most—in a brief overview by UA.News.
Mendel as the President’s Spokesperson
Yulia Mendel was brought onto Zelenskyy’s team as press secretary in 2019. She allegedly won an open competition among 4,000 candidates, with the finalists personally interviewed by the president and his associates.
In political circles and the media, the view circulated that Mendel was a protégé of Andriy Bohdan, then head of the Presidential Office, who shaped personnel policy at Bankova Street during the first months of Zelenskyy’s term. Bohdan was considered a proponent of an aggressive media strategy. Yulia Mendel fit this mold—sharp reactions to journalists, emotional statements, and a confrontational communication style. She was fired two years after her appointment, in July 2021.
Mendel is best remembered not for her professional achievements, but for scandals and bizarre incidents:
- She shoved and physically pushed journalists away from Zelenskyy when they tried to ask questions. Her conflict with Radio Liberty journalist Serhiy Andrushko caused a particular stir.
- She displayed arrogance and a preference for the Russian language; on the Dom TV channel, she hosted her own show, “A View from Bankova with Yulia Mendel,” in Russian.
- A joint photo of the press secretary with the president became a meme, as did a wave of rumors about her alleged pregnancy by Zelenskyy. This fake news was spread by anonymous Telegram channels and Russian propaganda.
- In November 2020, Mendel posted a photo of baked goods on Instagram, captioning it: “The sixth Brownie bear didn’t turn out right.” On social media, people immediately pointed out that Zelenskyy is Ukraine’s sixth president. Mendel later deleted this “joking” post.
- The former spokesperson is also remembered for her outrageous statements regarding the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In June 2019, speaking on television, she claimed that Ukrainian troops were allegedly shelling civilian infrastructure in Donbas in response to attacks by Russian occupation forces. Following these remarks, the Prosecutor General’s Office sent a request to the Presidential Office demanding confirmation or refutation of this claim. However, the Presidential Office did not respond to the request.
Thus, Yulia Mendel, while serving as an official in the Office of the President, became a media figure and even a source of provocative information.
Mendel after her dismissal and a high-profile interview
A few days after her dismissal in 2021, Yulia Mendel published the book “Each of Us Is the President,” in which she showered Volodymyr Zelenskyy with compliments, calling him “the best president in the history of Ukraine.”
She then began to criticize the president more and more frequently for his tendency toward authoritarianism, manipulation, and corruption, thereby reminding the public of her own presence in the media landscape. Mendel most openly “slandered” Zelenskyy in an interview with American TV host Tucker Carlson, an outspoken Trump supporter and Putin ally.
According to the former spokesperson, Zelenskyy “had a private conversation with Putin, during which he promised him that Ukraine would never join NATO,” but later the Ukrainian president shifted his rhetoric in favor of joining the Alliance.
Mendel also called Zelenskyy “one of the biggest obstacles” to establishing peace and stated that Ukraine “is on the brink of extinction.”
According to her, in 2022, the Ukrainian government allegedly agreed to cede Donbas during negotiations with the Russian side in Istanbul.
Mendel’s remarks about Zelenskyy’s alleged drug use caused a stir. Although she acknowledged that she had heard this from third parties and generally described the situation as an “open secret.”
“To write the book, I met many people who confirmed that they saw him using drugs in various clubs. Only one person confirmed that they saw him using drugs in 2021,” she replied to Tucker Carlson’s question.
Reaction from the President’s Office and the media
The Office of the President reacted to Mendel’s revelations with restraint, emphasizing that such claims should not be “taken seriously.” Dmytro Lytvyn, President Zelenskyy’s communications advisor, emphasized: “This woman did not participate in negotiations, did not participate in decision-making, has long been out of her mind, and as for who is telling her things there and whether it actually happened—it’s not worth commenting on seriously.”
Following her interview with Tucker Carlson, Yulia Mendel had her “moment of fame” in the Ukrainian media landscape. Some media figures and politicians called her a “town madwoman” who was offended by her brief stint in power and wanted to remind people of herself or seek revenge.
Another part of the establishment expressed the belief that Mendel works in the interests of the Russians, and has done so since her days as a journalist. For example, MP and owner of the Espreso TV channel Mykola Knyazhytskyi shared several episodes of his collaboration with the former presidential spokesperson:
“Yulia Mendel worked briefly at Espreso. She came to do investigative reporting. A conflict with the editor arose over a series of stories supporting a pro-Russian figure who now lives in Russia, without presenting the other side’s perspective. Somehow, I found listening devices in my office back then. I wasn’t surprised later when Yulia was invited to work for Zelenskyy, and I’m not surprised now that she’s chatting with Tucker Carlson.”
