“This performance speaks volumes” – Greens outraged by AfD’s actions in Ukraine

Julia Mendel, once spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj and now his sharp critic, appeared at an AfD event in the Bundestag. The Greens criticize the performance sharply.

The parliamentary director of the Greens, Irene Mihalic, told the “Rheinische Post”: “This appearance speaks volumes when it comes to the AfD’s political agenda.” Mendel practices “perpetrator-victim reversal in its purest form and the AfD is happy to use this propaganda for its pro-Russian submarine deployment in the German parliament.” This makes a mockery of the thousands and thousands of people who have fallen victim to Russian aggression to date, said Mihalic.

“Mendel glosses over a criminal act and at the same time acts as if the hostage had to give up his resistance so that the hostage-taking could be ended.” She added: “This distortion is simply disgusting and must have no place in the rooms of the German Bundestag.”

Mendel was scheduled to appear at a similar event for members of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg in September. However, the President of Parliament briefly revoked her access rights. Mihalic referred to this approach: “Of course you could have acted like the European Parliament is doing now.”

If there are security-related concerns when checking people who are supposed to appear in the Bundestag, action must be taken accordingly, said Mihalic. "I just think we have to take a very close look at who is appearing here in the Bundestag. For me, there are clear concerns, for example when people appear who are accused of high treason by a friendly country."

Ukrainian authorities accuse Mendel of treason. The SBU secret service, which reports to Zelensky, said it was carrying out “information and sabotage activities against Ukraine”. Their statements were intended to give the international impression that Ukraine did not deserve any further support and that the Ukrainian leadership was an obstacle to peace, it was said. Mendel denies acting in Russia's interests. She sees the approach as a restriction on freedom of expression.

The Bundestag administration did not comment on the specific case to the newspaper. However, a spokesman explained that there is a background check "before each guest access is granted" to ward off security risks. “Any pending sanction proceedings in third countries are fundamentally not relevant for the Bundestag’s background check.”