Zelenskyy has imposed sanctions against his former press secretary, Mendel: she responded
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has enacted sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defence Council against his former press secretary, Yulia Mendel.
This is set out in Presidential Decree No. 901/2026 of 13 September, reports Censor.NET.
Mendel has been subject to sanctions
"To enact the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated 13 September 2026 ‘On the application of personalised special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)’," the decree states.
The restrictions have been imposed on 10 Russian and Ukrainian individuals who spread disinformation and Russian propaganda and support Russia’s aggressive policy towards Ukraine. In particular, sanctions have been imposed on Yulia Mendel.
The remaining nine individuals are citizens of the Russian Federation. They include Svetlana Larina, Isabella Lieberman, Diana Malik, Alexander Mineev, Alexei Plotnikov, Oleg Rezepkin, Maria Rumyantseva, Sofia Sambulova, and Evgeny Strunkin.
A full range of restrictive measures has been imposed on most of these individuals. Specifically, these include asset freezes, trade bans, restrictions on capital outflows, entry bans, and other measures provided for by the Law "On Sanctions."
With regard to Mendel, additional restrictions have been imposed, limiting access from Ukrainian territory to his social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Mendel’s response
In response to the decision, Mendel stated that imposing sanctions against Ukrainian citizens is unconstitutional.
"A few days before my speech in the European Parliament, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, my former boss, imposed sanctions against me. Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, just like many of Zelenskyy’s other decisions. Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposes them on anyone who advocates for peace in Ukraine," she wrote.
She also stated that she had expected sanctions or charges of "high treason" following her conversation with Tucker Carlson.
"I knew that ‘high treason’ charges were being prepared against me because of my interview with Tucker Carlson, and I suspected the possibility of sanctions. This does not change my position, nor the position of millions of Ukrainians. To survive, Ukraine needs peace, not yet another dictatorship—even if it is Zelenskyy’s dictatorship," she added.
- As a reminder, Yulia Mendel served as Zelenskyy’s press secretary from June 3, 2019, to July 9, 2021.
Mendel's scandalous statements
- As a reminder, in May 2026, an interview with Yulia Mendel, the former press secretary to the President of Ukraine, was published by the American pro-Russian blogger Tucker Carlson.
- In the interview, Mendel claimed that during the Istanbul talks in 2022, Ukraine was allegedly ready to cede the Donbas, and that during the 2019 Normandy Summit, Zelenskyy allegedly promised Putin that Ukraine would not seek NATO membership.
- The Office of the President refuted Mendel’s statements, emphasizing that she had no involvement in the peace talks and possessed no information regarding Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decisions concerning the Donbas.
- Also, in an interview with the French publication Journal du Dimanche, Mendel called Zelenskyy "the main beneficiary of this war."
