Main points
- Yulia Mendel came to Tucker Carlson's show, where she voiced the Kremlin's narratives; her interview was aimed not at the Ukrainian audience, but at the Western one.
- Political strategist Yuriy Podorozhny does not rule out that Zelensky's express secretary, having a grudge against the OPU, decided to earn extra money in this way.
Former press secretary of the Ukrainian president, Yulia Mendel, gave an interview to American journalist Tucker Carlson, known for his loyalty to Putin. Mendel completed her term in office in 2021. Therefore, her reflections on the work of the OPU after that time are inappropriate.
This opinion was expressed on Channel 24 by political strategist Yuriy Podzhorozhny, emphasizing that Mendel did not have access to many areas, so it cannot be claimed that she has inside information and that what she said is the truth.
What audience is Mendel's interview aimed at?
After analyzing Mendel's statements, the political strategist pointed out that Zelensky's press secretary is voicing Russian narratives today, and this is evidenced in particular by her statement that “Slavs are killing Slavs.” According to Podorozhny, the Ukrainian domestic audience read this and drew the appropriate conclusion about her.
This interview, according to the political strategist, was not aimed at the Ukrainian audience. He is sure that it was not for nothing that it appeared right now, when the story with the former head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, was intensifying.
For your information! On May 11, NABU and SAPO announced that they had exposed an organized group involved in the legalization of 460 million hryvnias in an elite construction project near Kyiv. One of its members, Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was informed about the suspicion. He later denied the accusations against him. The trial is currently ongoing. Yermak's case has 16 volumes. Part of the hearing on the selection of a preventive measure for him will be held in closed session. The court session is scheduled to continue on May 13.
The ultimate goal of “Mindichgate” was not Mindich, not Yermak, but Zelensky. Therefore, this interview is for the Western viewer, who will receive two pieces of news from Ukraine in the information field today: the former head of the OPU has been suspected; and Zelensky's express secretary accuses him of being a drug addict and not ready to negotiate, but interested in continuing the war,
– said the political strategist.
Podorozhny also drew attention to the fact that the US is throwing a story into the information field that the peace agreement will be signed without security guarantees for Ukraine. He explained that of course no one asks the question like that, but this topic is being promoted to check the reaction. He perceives the conversation between Mendel and Carlson as part of a single conditional center that will set the agenda for the near future.
In conclusion, the political strategist expressed the opinion that Mendel's interview was motivated by a desire to make money. According to him, after she was left without a position in the OPU, she developed a resentment and certain individuals decided to take advantage of this.
Note! According to the executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, Dmytro Zhmail, Mendel's participation in the Carlson show is a targeted action within the framework of an information attack aimed at weakening Ukraine's diplomatic position.
What other statements did Mendel make and how is the OPU reacting?
Yulia Mendel expressed the opinion that Zelensky's position on the negotiations currently complicates the signing of a peace agreement. She said that in 2022, during the negotiations in Turkey, the Ukrainian side was supposedly ready to cede Donetsk. According to her, the Ukrainian leader allowed the possibility of giving up Donbas in order to end the fighting as soon as possible, but then Kyiv's rhetoric changed. Mendel reproached Zelensky for being inconsistent.
Presidential Communications Advisor Dmytro Lytvyn noted that Yulia Mendel was not involved in the negotiations, therefore he considers it frivolous to comment on such statements of hers and stated that Zelensky's former press secretary “has been out of her mind for a long time.”
The Center for Countering Disinformation, in response to Yulia Mendel's statements about her alleged readiness to “give up Donbas in 2022,” noted that the issue of such territorial concessions has never been and will not be on the agenda for Ukraine. The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, recalled that in 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine intensively opposed the Russian army in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during the battles for the capital and after the defeat of the occupation forces in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions. The Center called Mendel's words “conspiracy theory.”