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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Former spokeswoman for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Yuliya Mendel, gave an interview to the French publication Journal du Dimanche; she published its translation on Facebook on 2 August. In the interview she criticized Zelenskyy and urged the West to stop the war in Ukraine, hinting that this could be achieved by sacrificing Ukrainian territories.
In this interview Mendel accused Zelenskyy of narcissism and his inner circle of corruption, claimed that under his rule Ukraine had turned into an autocracy, and alleged that he is "the main beneficiary of this war."
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Mendel also said that the president currently has "very few" supporters among Ukrainians (polling data do not confirm this).
She rejected accusations of being pro-Russian, but at the same time effectively called for accepting territorial losses in exchange for ending the war and cited Finland as an example.
"We live under drone attacks, under missiles, under bombs. Here’s the main point: even if Russia loses, that doesn’t mean Ukraine wins. And Russia will not lose. Explain to me how a Ukrainian mother is supposed to rejoice that a Russian oil refinery is burning: that won’t bring back her husband, it won’t protect her children," Mendel said (demonstrating how detached she really is from the context of Ukrainians, who generally rejoice at fires in Russia).
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The newspaper that published Mendel’s interview has previously repeatedly published pro-Russian narratives, as have other outlets that are part of the media empire of French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security noted. It cited as an example the June issue of JDNews, also owned by the Bolloré group, whose cover called to "restore relations with Russia and stop the escalation of the war."
Ukraine MFA spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi reminded on X that Mendel left the president’s team many years ago and since then has repeatedly made manipulative statements that echo Russian propaganda.
"Do not be deceived by words that in no way reflect the real state of affairs in Ukraine or the position of the Ukrainian president. She cannot be considered a source worthy of trust," Tykhyi wrote.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Мендель дала нове пропагандистське інтерв’ю західним ЗМІ. У МЗС України прокоментували". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
