Zelenskyy puts ex-press secretary under sanctions over propaganda claims

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree imposing sanctions on his former press secretary, Iuliia Mendel, according to a statement released by the president’s office on September 13.

The document states that sanctions have been imposed on 10 Russian and Ukrainian citizens for spreading disinformation and Russian propaganda, as well as for supporting Russia’s aggressive policy toward Ukraine. Mendel is among those sanctioned.

She responded to the restrictions almost immediately, saying that such measures would not change her position and that she had expected such a reaction from her former boss.

“A few days before my speech at the European Parliament, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, my former boss, imposed sanctions on me. Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, as are many other decisions by Zelenskyy. Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses them against everyone who advocates peace in Ukraine. I knew that ‘treason against the state’ was being prepared because of my interview with Tucker Carlson, and I suspected that sanctions were possible. This does not change my position, just as it does not change the position of millions of Ukrainians. For Ukraine to survive, it needs peace, not another dictatorship, even if it is Zelenskyy’s dictatorship,” Mendel wrote.

The sanctions list also includes 20 vessels used by Moscow to export oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas. Restrictions have additionally been imposed on 29 Russian citizens and 29 Russian companies.

A Ukrainian media outlet previously reported that in May, Mendel raised suspicions about possible drug use by Zelenskyy during an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson.

In August, Mendel claimed that Zelenskyy was the main beneficiary of the war in Ukraine.

By Jeyhun Aghazada