In brief

• Ukraine's Security Service and Prosecutor General's Office have served a suspicion of treason on former Zelensky press secretary Yulia Mendel.
• She is also suspected of justifying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.
• The case rests largely on her statements in foreign media and on social networks, including an interview with Tucker Carlson.

Charges and legal grounds

Investigators say Mendel is suspected of treason and of justifying Russia's war against Ukraine (Бывшую пресс-секретаря Зеленского подозревают в государственной измене – Zerkalo) (СБУ повідомили про підозру у держзраді Юлії Мендель – Suspilne). Prosecutors say she is charged under two articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code: one covering treason committed under martial law, and another covering the justification or denial of Russia's armed aggression. The notice was served in absentia (СБУ сообщила Юлии Мендель о подозрении в госизмене – NV).

What prosecutors allege

According to the investigation, Mendel used her public profile and her experience in government communications to spread narratives that benefit the aggressor state and aim to discredit Ukraine and weaken its international support ("Моя нація деградує": Мендель оголосили підозру в держзраді – Українська правда). Authorities say the statements were picked up by Russian state and pro-Kremlin media in their propaganda output.

The evidence

The material behind the suspicion includes Mendel's interviews with foreign media and her posts on social networks (Власти Украины обвинили бывшего пресс-секретаря Зеленского Юлию Мендель в государственной измене – Meduza). In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, she is quoted in reporting as saying she believed Ukraine was on the verge of disappearing and that her nation was deteriorating. She also argued that Ukraine has no democracy or freedom of speech. On her Facebook page, prosecutors say, she repeated claims that officials profit from the war and that dissidents are persecuted. Prosecutors say the claims were also used by Russian state and Kremlin-aligned media in their propaganda materials.

Background

Mendel worked with Volodymyr Zelensky from 2019 to 2021. In May 2026 she criticised the Ukrainian president sharply in the Carlson interview, and the presidential office responded by calling her statements unbalanced.