Ukraine accuses Zelensky’s ex-spokeswoman of high treason

• Ukraine has accused Yulia Mendel, Volodymyr Zelensky’s former spokeswoman, of high treason and backing Russia’s war, prosecutors said on 3 November.
• Mendel, who worked for Zelensky from 2019 to 2021, has become a sharp critic, alleging corruption, authoritarianism and no free speech in Ukraine.
• Prosecutors say her public comments helped “discredit Ukraine” and spread “narratives to Russia’s benefit”; Mendel denies this and says the charges “prove that I am right”.

KYIV - A former spokeswoman for Volodymyr Zelensky who has turned into one of the Ukrainian leader’s most vocal critics is accused of high treason, prosecutors said on Nov 3.

Yulia Mendel served as Zelensky’s press secretary from his election in 2019 until 2021, several months before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The 40-year-old, who lives outside the country, has since become outspoken in denouncing her former boss, accusing him of corruption and creeping authoritarianism.

“Prosecutors... have gathered sufficient evidence to inform the former press secretary of the Ukrainian president that she is suspected of high treason and of justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine,” the public prosecutor’s office said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian authorities accused Mendel of “taking advantage of her public profile... to disseminate statements favourable to the aggressor state, with the aim of discrediting Ukraine”.

The investigators criticised Mendel’s claim that there was no free speech in Ukraine and that the country was “on the path towards extinction”.

Her declarations represent “narratives to Russia’s benefit” which “reinforce disenchantment and demoralise” Ukrainian society, the prosecutors said.

Mendel rejected the accusations, insisting in a post on Telegram that they “prove that I am right”.

Zelensky had already imposed sanctions against Mendel.

While the ex-spokeswoman has criticised the Kremlin’s campaign, she has also insisted that Kyiv needs to swiftly come to an agreement with Russia to ensure Ukraine’s survival as a state.

In an interview with right-wing US talk show host Tucker Carlson earlier this year, she described the Ukrainian leader as “one of the biggest obstacles towards peace”. AFP