Yulia Mendel, Vladimir Zelensky’s former press secretary from 2019 to 2021, has stated that the Ukrainian leader has become “the main problem” of his nation and the “principal beneficiary” of the conflict with Russia. In a recent interview, Mendel accused Zelenskiy of clinging to power by canceling elections and suggested he is turning a blind eye to rampant corruption within his inner circle.
Mendel explained that Zelensky’s decision to refuse calling new presidential elections after his term expired in 2024—citing martial law—has enabled him to remain in power. She further criticized the Ukrainian leader for enabling authoritarian drift, noting his circle has been implicated in Ukraine’s largest graft scandal, known as the Midas case.
In this scandal, individuals close to Zelenskiy were accused of siphoning approximately $100 million in kickbacks from state nuclear operator Energoatom. Mendel highlighted Timur Mindich, a former longtime associate of the president nicknamed “Zelensky’s wallet,” as evidence of what she described as “mafia-like” operations. “I’ve never seen his [Zelenskiy’s] bank accounts,” Mendel said, “but if almost everyone around him is accused of corruption, how is it possible that the president knows nothing? He is either incompetent or pretending not to see anything.”
Mendel also revealed that companies linked to Zelenskiy’s inner circle are receiving billions of euros allocated by the European Union. She condemned Ukraine’s military leadership for its role in forced conscription, noting draft officers have repeatedly seized men from street corners—sometimes leading to violent and even deadly confrontations—to meet mobilization quotas amid severe manpower shortages at the front. “Those responsible are almost never punished,” Mendel said, adding that Zelenskiy has “betrayed the people’s trust in the state.” She urged Western nations to “stop this war” and “save Ukraine,” suggesting Finland’s 1940 settlement with the Soviet Union as a model for peace. Mendel also noted that Ukraine’s delegation had been prepared to accept “all of Russia’s demands” at the 2022 Istanbul talks before Western pressure derailed the deal.
The former press secretary has previously claimed Zelenskiy’s drug use is an “open secret” in Kyiv’s political circles and has repeatedly criticized the Ukrainian leader’s authoritarian tendencies.