Zelensky’s Former Press Secretary Says: “I’m No Russian Spy; I Just Want Ukraine to Surrender”

International Desk. Dhaka, 18 October 2026

Former Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s press secretary, Yuliia Mendel, told The Telegraph that she is not a Russian spy. She argues that the war cannot be won and that Kyiv should surrender. Once an admirer of Zelensky who wrote a book praising him, Mendel now calls him “the biggest obstacle to peace” and is demanding his resignation.

From praise to harsh criticism

Mendel worked as a close aide to Zelensky for two years. In her 2022 book, The Fight for Our Lives, she described him as “a breath of fresh air.” She also wrote that Russia’s aim was to “erase Ukraine from the map.”
Now, she describes Zelensky’s war strategy as “national suicide” and warns that it could send Ukraine “down the path of Afghanistan.” “The situation in the war has changed, and so have its consequences,” she says.

Comment on liability

In the interview, Mendel acknowledged that Vladimir Putin started the war. Yet almost all her criticism was directed at Zelensky. She initially said Putin and Zelensky bore equal responsibility for the conflict. She later revised her assessment, saying, “Maybe 60-40, with Putin 60 percent and Zelensky 40 percent.” Blaming Ukraine and its leaders for the war is a familiar element of Kremlin propaganda, aimed at weakening Western support for Kyiv.
Mendel also partly walked back her description of Zelensky as a “dictator,” comparing him to Donald Trump. She now uses the term “authoritarian.” “Maybe I was a little too harsh, but the problem is that there is no democracy in the country anymore,” she said. She sharply criticized Zelensky for not holding elections during the war, although Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections under martial law, imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
It is also worth noting that since early 2025, Zelensky has repeatedly proposed ceasefires and talks with Putin. These proposals have either been rejected or met with demands for sweeping territorial concessions. Putin continues to press Ukraine to surrender the entire eastern Donbas region, along with other territories partly under Russian control. He has also ruled out the deployment of NATO troops to help secure Ukraine’s postwar borders. Mendel’s account makes no mention of these developments.

Mendel has gone from being one of Zelensky’s closest aides to one of his harshest critics. Photo: Pablo Yurkin

Russian agent suspicions and sanctions

Mendel’s shift in position and some of her claims, which range from seemingly retaliatory to outright implausible, have led Ukrainian officials and opposition lawmakers to suspect that she may be a Russian agent. She dismissed the allegation as “ridiculous,” saying, “I have no connection with Russia.”
Her social media posts and recent interviews have circulated unsubstantiated allegations that Zelensky uses drugs, has profited illegally from the war, and that his former chief of staff was involved in “satanic witchcraft.” Zelensky has strongly denied the drug allegations. Critics in Ukraine accuse Mendel of working with figures linked to the MAGA movement in the United States and Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to undermine American and European military and financial support for Ukraine. She has also expanded her contacts with right-wing fringe influencers in the United States and far-right figures in Germany, many of whom voice pro-Kremlin views.
In September, Zelensky imposed sweeping sanctions on Mendel, accusing her of spreading “disinformation and Russian propaganda” and “supporting Russia’s aggressive policies against Ukraine.” Mendel, 40, said she feared she could next face treason charges but would fight them through the legal system. She accused Zelensky of seeking to silence anyone he considers “disloyal or critical.”

Criticism of Western leaders, praise for AfD

Mendel has criticized Western leaders for refusing to engage in talks with Putin. She has praised the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s desire to reset relations between Berlin and Moscow. Although she has not explicitly endorsed the populist, pro-Russian party, she has argued that it should play a role in peace efforts. “Merz [Friedrich Merz] does not talk to Putin … the AfD wants to talk to Putin,” she said.
Mendel was scheduled to speak in September at an AfD-hosted event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg titled “Dare to Make Peace: Diplomacy, Not Escalation.” However, she was denied entry. She blamed the decision on the sanctions Ukraine had imposed on her.
Mendel denied receiving money from anyone or coordinating her views with “any political force.” She said she was “open to dialogue” with all sides, including the AfD and the Trump administration. She added that she was “glad that there are political forces in the West whose views on the situation in Ukraine align with mine.”
Many people inside and outside Ukraine fundamentally disagree with Mendel’s views. Dismissing the criticism, she said, “The path to peace is not easy … It will be highly controversial, very difficult, and full of accusations and criticism … but the most important thing is to take that path.”

Zelensky’s office’s response

A spokesperson for Zelensky’s office said Mendel “never had access to any information” about the war or how decisions were made in the president’s office. “Her statements are merely a product of her own imagination and reflect the interests of those in the United States and Europe who finance her lifestyle,” the spokesperson said.

Background

Mendel grew up in Kherson, a region heavily damaged by Russian attacks and partly occupied by Russian forces. After working as a journalist, she was handpicked to join Zelensky’s office at just 32. She now lives in the United States with her husband, Pavlo Kukhta, a former Ukrainian deputy economy minister.
Mendel left her post as press secretary in 2021, about 10 months before Russia’s full-scale invasion. She initially cited health reasons for her departure. She now says she resigned because of her employer’s “erratic” behaviour. “He was not behaving as a leader should behave to maintain this very fragile balance of peace,” she said.
Zelensky’s office strongly disputes her account, saying she left because she was “mentally unstable and constantly got into arguments with journalists.” In 2019, Mendel faced widespread criticism after physically pushing a journalist to prevent him from questioning Zelensky. She said she had been protecting the president’s “personal space.”
Source: The Telegraph