Iuliia Mendel – the former press secretary of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy – claimed that he was allegedly ready to give Donbas to Russia during the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. The former spokesperson for the head of state stated this in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson — a journalist known for his pro-Russian views who personally interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin, UNN reports.
She asserts: Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready for territorial concessions to "stop the horrors of war."
I spoke with people who represented Ukraine at the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. They almost reached an agreement. What is very important, Zelenskyy personally agreed to give away (Donbas, – ed.), and I was shocked at that moment
The former spokesperson for the head of state added that against this backdrop, Zelenskyy's recent statements that he cannot give up Donbas look very unpresentable.
What else Iuliia Mendel and Tucker Carlson talked about
In addition, Iuliia Mendel voiced her vision for ending Russia's war with Ukraine. She believes that the only possible option today is a peace agreement between the two countries.
The only way to support Ukraine today is to push (it, – ed.) toward a peace agreement
Zelenskyy's former spokesperson believes that it was possible to sit down at the negotiating table and sign a final document a long time ago, but Ukraine's ally countries are preventing this. In particular, she recalled 2022 and the visit of then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Kyiv. In her opinion, it was he who prevented "mutual understanding" between the two sides of the conflict.
Note that this specific thesis is actively used by Russian propaganda to present Ukraine not as an independent participant in diplomatic processes, but as a puppet of powerful states such as Great Britain and the USA.
Iuliia Mendel also believes that for ordinary Ukrainians, the war is devoid of any meaning.
If the war is for joining NATO — Ukraine has no chance of joining; if it's against Zelenskyy — then he is its main beneficiary; if it's for the return of territories — Ukraine has been losing them for three years; if it's for democracy — then there is no democracy in the country now
The former press secretary of Volodymyr Zelenskyy also hinted that the President of Ukraine allegedly broke a promise he made to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in 2019. This refers to the non-aligned status of official Kyiv. Mendel claims that this was exactly what was discussed during the Normandy Summit in December 2019 in Paris.
Very few people know exactly what he promised
At the end of the conversation with Tucker Carlson, she addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin personally in Russian.
Vladimir Vladimirovich [...] You say that you want peace. Peace is the only thing that can be done right today. Peace is the only possible thing that will make both Ukraine and Russia winners. There is no winner in this war, none. Both countries are losing, Slavs are killing Slavs
What society thinks about the former Zelenskyy spokesperson's conversation with Tucker Carlson
After her interview appeared in the public information space, Iuliia Mendel faced a storm of criticism from politicians and public activists.
Advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko believes that the former presidential spokesperson gave the interview to Carlson out of a desire to remind people of herself.
For the sake of a minute of hype and media mentions, she is ready to go even against her own country and people. It doesn't matter what they say. As long as they are talking. A pathetic sight
Strategic communications specialist Volodymyr Anfimov called Iuliia Mendel's messages horrific.
Already in the first minutes of the conversation, Iuliia Mendel called the President of Ukraine one of the main obstacles on the path to peace. She effectively put an equal sign between Zelenskyy and Putin. And this message is so horrific that I don't even want to reproduce it here
How the Office of the President reacted to Mendel's statements
The Office of the President has already refuted Iuliia Mendel's statements. They said that as of 2022, she did not participate in negotiations (the woman indeed held the position of spokesperson for the President of Ukraine from 2019 to 2021, – ed.) and had no access to information about decisions made at the highest level.
In particular, the President's advisor on communications, Dmytro Lytvyn, stated the following:
This lady did not participate in negotiations, did not participate in decision-making, she has been out of her mind for a long time, and who tells her what there and whether it actually happened — it's not serious to comment on
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, also denied the words of Zelenskyy's former spokesperson.
The issue of giving up territories has never been and will never be on the table. Anyone (I'm talking about Mendel) can voice conspiracy theories in their own interests about giving up Donbas in 2022, citing some sources. But the fact remains — Ukraine has been fighting and is fighting for its territory since 2014
Note that the issue of territorial concessions to Russia is the stumbling block that halts all negotiations involving the Ukrainian and Russian sides. Official Moscow insists that Ukraine completely withdraw its troops from the territory of the Donetsk region and renounce the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian side does not agree to such compromises.