Secret service accuses Zelensky's ex-spokeswoman of treason

President Volodymyr Zelensky's first press spokeswoman and current critic, Julia Mendel, is suspected of treason. The SBU secret service, which reports to Zelensky, said it was carrying out “information and sabotage activities against Ukraine”.

After analyzing her public appearances and statements, the public prosecutor's office and the SBU came to the conclusion that Mendel damaged the country's international reputation and justified the "Kremlin regime" and the Russian war against Ukraine.

The public prosecutor's office based the suspicion, among other things, on Mendel's interview with the conservative American blogger Tucker Carlson. Statements such as “I believe that Ukraine is on the verge of disappearing” and “Look, my nation is being degraded” were used by Russian propaganda. She also compared the bans in today's Ukraine with those in the Soviet Union. Mendel's statements were intended to create the international impression that Ukraine does not deserve further support and that the Ukrainian leadership represents an obstacle to peace, it was said.

Mendel immediately refused to act in Russia's interests. “The reason for this suspicion was my public statements in Western media and my posts on social networks - especially those that related to the exposure of corruption in Zelensky's environment, the lack of freedom of expression and political persecution,” she wrote on Facebook.

Zelenskyj showed that she was right. It's about restricting freedom of expression.

Due to the current martial law, Mendel, who lives abroad, is threatened with a life sentence in her home country. “This is the price of freedom of expression and the pursuit of saving Ukraine in Zelensky’s time,” she wrote at the end of her post.

In September, Zelensky had already imposed sanctions on them - similar to his first office chief Andrij Bohdan. Among other things, she was stripped of all state awards, had her Ukrainian assets frozen for ten years and had her social media pages blocked in Ukraine.

Mendel worked as a journalist for many years, including for the New York Times, and was Zelenskyj's spokeswoman from 2019 to 2021. She regularly accuses the head of state and those around him of prolonging the war unnecessarily in order to enrich themselves personally. She spoke abroad, among other things, at an AfD event.

Even before the Russian invasion in February 2022, Zelensky began taking action against critics and restricting press freedom. Among other things, he banned several television channels that were described as “pro-Russian”.