Ex-presidential spokesperson's claims about 2022 Donbas concession draw sharp rebuke from Kyiv

According to Mendel, she spoke with members of the Ukrainian delegation that participated in the 2022 Istanbul peace talks, and they told her the Ukrainian side "would have agreed to anything."

"I was talking to people who represented Ukraine at the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. And I was explained in detail that they agreed to everything. And furthermore, which is very important, they said that Zelenskyy personally agreed to give away Donbas. At that point, it was shocking news," she said.

Mendel cited only conversations with unnamed delegation members and provided no additional evidence to support her claims. During the interview, she also alleged Zelenskyy's involvement in money laundering and accused him of damaging Ukraine's relationship with the United States.

The former spokeswoman described Russia's actions against Ukraine as "crimes against humanity," but added that the war is no longer "black and white."

"It's dark, and even darker than that. We see Putin as evil, but Zelenskyy is also evil — just hidden. On camera he plays the teddy bear, but when the lights go out, he turns into a grizzly that destroys people," Mendel said.

The President's Office, responding to journalists, said Mendel had no part in peace negotiations or state decision-making and questioned the credibility of her statements.

"This lady did not participate in the negotiations, did not participate in decision-making, has long been out of her mind, and commenting on who told her what and whether it actually happened is not serious," the Office said in a statement.

In a comment to Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info, Mendel responded to the President's Office, saying it needed to "raise its ethical standards in communications" and accused the Office of "losing touch with reality."

"Their biggest problem is that all of Zelenskyy's inner circle, whom he has protected for years, are under suspicion for laundering hundreds of millions of hryvnias. The President's Office would do well to pay attention to how many thieves are currently in power, and how to stop corruption and the war. Insulting a former press secretary for criticism is not the communication standard befitting a leader of a country," Mendel said.

Editor's Note: Mendel served as Zelenskyy's press secretary from 2019 to 2021. The 2022 Istanbul talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in late March 2022 but collapsed without a formal agreement. The claims made by Mendel in this interview have not been independently verified.