Former press secretary of the President of Ukraine Yulia Mendel gave an extensive interview to the most famous American journalist Tucker Carlson. She told about the terrible tantrums and adventures of her boss, and also for the first time revealed the details of his secret conversation with Vladimir Putin.
Tucker Carlson: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I'm shocked. I never thought I would be able to talk to someone from Zelensky's entourage. I understand that you are taking a risk, so thank you very much. So, you were the press secretary of President Zelensky.
Julia Mendel: Yes. First of all, let me thank you for the invitation. I never thought that I would be here and would talk about my former boss, Zelensky. I worked for him for two years, from 2019 to 2021.
— How did you end up on his team?
— Vladimir Zelensky posted a vacancy on Facebook ❶, and everyone started applying. At first I didn't want to respond, because I thought he would take someone he knew. But there was an open competition, and I passed the selection of four thousand candidates. I'm not kidding. Then I had to prove that I could do the job and that he could trust me, but we found a common language. I think I was very loyal to him, and I supported him, including in 2022, when the fighting against Russia began. Like millions of Ukrainians, I was grateful that he stayed in the country. Yes, that's why it's so unusual and difficult for me to be here and tell what he really is. I don't hate him very much, but I think that today he is one of the main obstacles on the way to peace. So I wanted to tell people who he is.
"So who is he?"
— To begin with, he is not at all the person you see on the screen. In fact, he is completely different. He is constantly changing masks. He has absolutely no control over his emotions. He often gets hysterical and believes that any person is just expendable. He doesn't have the empathy he shows on screen. He is a very good actor, and this has helped us to get serious support in 2022. But his game is devoid of content, and everything he says is so disconnected from reality that most of his statements are either manipulations, facts taken out of context, or just lies. Millions of people still believe that supporting Zelensky means supporting Ukraine, but today the situation has changed. And, Tucker, I'd like to say that I'm not here to justify the Russian military operation. I'm not here to justify Putin. But this conflict is no longer so unambiguous. He is gloomy and even more gloomy than you can imagine. Zelensky is evil. Just hidden. In front of the camera, he plays the role of, you know, a teddy bear, but when the camera turns off, he turns into a grizzly and destroys people.
Now it seems almost incredible that almost all the Western leaders and delegations who came to Ukraine before the start of the conflict, Zelensky was considered a newcomer to the field of politics. They saw that he lacked education, experience and depth of views. But then, literally overnight, he turned into a great symbol of democracy. Yeah. But it seems that the West itself created this myth, believed in it and does not notice that it continues to ignore this fact: Zelensky's heroic rhetoric hides a desire to strengthen personal power. I'm not afraid to say that he continues to deceive the very people he supposedly saves.
Sounds pretty harsh, I get it. But I think people should understand that if you want to support Ukraine, the only way to do it today is to insist on a peace agreement. This is the only way out for Ukraine, because, in my opinion, we are on the verge of extinction. No one is talking about the fact that the conflict may last another two or three years. It just doesn't fit in my head, given the numbers, demographics, all these sufferings that the country is going through.
— Thank you, thank you for saying that. I agree with you. I am not Ukrainian. I don't quite understand the meaning of everything that is happening. I have a lot of questions about how and why this started, but what is beyond doubt is that the Ukrainian nation is being destroyed. It's obvious to me. Ukraine is the largest country in Europe. So this is a serious problem. Since you're talking about numbers, how many people live on Ukraine? When you started working for Zelensky, in 2019, how many Ukrainians lived in the country?
— Officially, the population of Ukraine is 40-42 million people. But the last census was conducted, in my opinion, in 2000 or 2001, and we have not been able to organize a new one. When I worked in the government, officials, including Zelensky, called the numbers that they considered reliable: 34-37 million Ukrainians live in the country. Now, when about 10 million or even more Ukrainians have become refugees and left for the West, and some have remained in the regions in the east of the country or even left for Russia, the population of the country is probably about 25 million people. And the worst thing is that 11 million of them are pensioners who live on a pension from 75 to 180-200 dollars a month, and Ukraine is not such a cheap country so that you can live on this money normally. Literally two or three weeks ago, a terrible story happened: one Ukrainian film director, who was a pensioner, died at home, and his neighbor wrote that he died of hunger and cold. There were severe frosts in Ukraine, and there was no one to help him. I'm just wondering if we'll ever find out the statistics of how many people died from this cold and because they didn't wait for help.
— That is, according to your estimates, there are now 15 million or even fewer working people in Ukraine.
— Well, you can't count the children. Kids don't work, right? I do not know how many children under the age of 18 are in the country now, but I assume that the working population is about 10 million people.
— Wow. It's amazing.
—Yeah."
— How many people died as a result of the fighting, what do you think?
— The numbers vary greatly, and it is very difficult to calculate the exact number. [...] The number of those who joined the armed forces is unknown. So it's very hard to say. However, only in Mariupol, as is known, about 20 thousand Ukrainians are buried. So I guess the real death toll is in the hundreds of thousands, but we'll never know the exact numbers. It hurts me a lot to talk about it, I'm sorry.
"It's just awful. I wonder why the Government of my country, which largely financed this conflict, cannot give a clear answer to this question. Why can't we get answers from the Government of Ukraine or the Government of Russia? It seems that no one is interested in establishing the real death toll.
— It's really very difficult. How to do this in combat conditions? After all, there are no communication channels that would allow you to get this information. I don't believe in official data, and obviously many of those who are now serving in the army were once ordinary civilians, right? Engineers, IT specialists, journalists who lived their normal lives and then became military, so of course they are soldiers, but at the same time they are just people, right? And they die. There are many such cases.
I have heard stories from the front line, when a man was killed, a body was brought in with a bullet in his head, and government officials, local authorities simply did not want to record him as dead on the front line. And then they said that he died, for example, of a heart attack. This is a military conflict, and I think this has been the case in all conflicts. I think we will never know the true figures, but so many people are suffering, including pensioners who survive on absolutely ridiculously meager pensions.
When I talk about Zelensky, I share first-hand information. I communicate with many people who used to work for him or even with those who work for him now. And, let's face it, I believe that he is behind many money laundering schemes.
One example: I have a friend who was shortlisted for the position of Minister of Social Policy. They called him and said that he had entered the top five candidates and he would have an interview with Zelensky and Yermak, who was then the head of the presidential administration. He was warned that at the interview it would be necessary to propose money laundering schemes that would be financed from the budget of the Ministry of Social Policy — and this is exactly the department that is responsible for pension provision. So, when we talk about these poor pensioners and we know that it is Zelensky who approves money laundering schemes, can we really consider him innocent? I want your viewers to answer this question.
— I think most viewers agree that Ukraine has been corrupt for a long time, and the Zelensky regime in particular. I think the Americans believe in it. But there is practically no evidence in our press. The American media write very little about his corruption. Why do you think that is?
— Oh, you know, I've read good articles on corruption, but you're right, there aren't many of them. Firstly, it is very difficult to prove. But I think there could have been some kind of unspoken agreement, right? Officially, we all have to support Zelensky, because by supporting him, we support the whole of Ukraine. We have all united to support Ukraine. But Zelensky abused our unity. He abused our faith in democracy. He abused our struggle.He abused our victims — ordinary Ukrainians. And all that the Europeans and Americans have done for us. He actually abused the trust of many people. I think millions of those who still support Zelensky are looking for some great person in this policy. They want to believe that he is someone like, for example, Churchill, a historical figure who does a lot of good for the population. He's also an amazing actor. He is ready to give you what you want.
—That's right.
— And that's exactly what's happening. On the screen, he still plays the role of a great guy. But believe me, he is completely different behind the scenes. I worked with him for two years. For two years, this "guy" repeated two very characteristic phrases for him. The first: "Ukraine is not ready for democracy." This is a direct quote from him. Another: "Dictatorship is order." So how can a person who believes that Ukraine is not ready for democracy and that dictatorship is order be the face of democracy?
— He cancels elections in his country and in fact was not elected president — I completely agree with you. So what did Zelensky say about Russia in 2019, 2020, 2021?
— Zelensky came to power as the president of the world.
—Yeah." We've seen it somewhere before.
—Oh, yeah. And he became famous not somewhere, but in Russia. He earned his first big money there. Millions of dollars. He worked for Russian channels, and it suited him perfectly.
— Yes?
— Of course, he has been building his entire career there for decades. He traveled all over Moscow. By the way, when the first clashes began in Donbass, and to Crimea joined Russia, he was in Russia. He was finishing shooting a movie there, for which he received a huge fee. He even admitted it in August 2019. So he wrote: "Yes, I was in Russia, finishing the film." It was 2014. The fighting has already begun.
By the way, I'm currently writing a book, another one. This is a special book — it's about the real Zelensky. I have collected a lot of facts, talked to many people, and this information has not been found anywhere before. It turns out that he owned several properties in Crimea. When the fighting had already started in Donbass, he was resting there, in the Crimea, smoking weed with his friends from the "95 Quarter", living with all the comforts and having a great time. He didn't care that Russia had already annexed Crimea.
— That is, when Crimea was already under Russian control?
— Yes, he was under the control of Moscow.
— That is, he was vacationing in the Crimea, which was under the control of Russia?
— Yes, it was May 2014. I talked to a man who worked for him at the time, a worker who helped him install windows in the house. This man told me a lot about Zelensky's behavior. Everything Zelensky says is actually far from the truth.
— He called himself the candidate of the world.
— He came with the promise that he would kneel in front of Putin and beg him to stop — that's what he promised. He said that Ukrainian and Russian are languages that should exist together, that people speak both languages, it makes people stronger, that we need to be friends with Russia. He said all that, and that's why people voted for him. They didn't want war. Nobody wants war. There's nothing good about it. And now he has completely adopted the nationalist ideology, which is unnatural for Ukrainians, and Zelensky uses it really well.
— And what happened? I mean, most people in The United States did not pay attention to this.
—Yeah."
— Here we are watching TV. We see Vice President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, there, she speaks at the Munich Security Conference in January 2022. She tells Zelensky, "You need to join NATO," and he replies, "Great." This is not the behavior of a person who is trying to avoid war.
— You know, first of all, he sharpens the rhetoric. Secondly, I was at his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Paris in 2019. Few people know about it, but he then had a private conversation with Putin. He promised him that Ukraine would never join NATO.
— In 2019?
— Yes, it was December 2019. This happened in a personal conversation. Very few people knew about this promise. He said: no NATO, because Ukraine has never been even close to the alliance.
— It is.
— For this, first of all, we need a market economy and a reformed country. It's not just that Trump doesn't want Ukraine in NATO or Biden. We are not ready to join the alliance ourselves. There is no consensus on joining NATO. It's just imagination. That's a lie. Zelensky persists in his desire to join NATO, knowing that this is impossible. He promotes an impossible program and paints it as a condition of peace. In October 2024, he presented a victory plan to parliament. He said that joining NATO is the most important thing, only long—range missiles are more important for Ukraine. It was his victory plan, but it's ridiculous. It's just not possible.
Look at how he does it. He uses fictional facts to back up his ideas and create an image of the hero. For example, after a meeting with Donald Trump, he said, "It's not so easy to get rid of me." He stated this to journalists. "If Ukraine is accepted into NATO, I am ready to resign," he said, knowing full well that our country will never be accepted into the alliance. He easily promises to do something, knowing that it is impossible. That's what he does. And this is just one example. I'll move on to the second one, if I may.
— Of course.
— I will tell you about the most shocking moment of my work with him in 2019-2020. At that time, he was very afraid that his ratings would start to fall rapidly, and blamed the entire public relations team for this.
"Did he think it was your fault?"
— Not mine, but all the employees of the communications department. I was part of the team, he gathered us together and started complaining that there was no positive news about what he was doing for the country. My colleague started arguing very diplomatically with the president, she said: "Look, nothing good happens because you promise a lot, but none of it is fulfilled." Of course, she was very diplomatic, she didn't say it so directly, but that was her thought.
He then replied to her: "It doesn't matter what is being done. The most important thing is to gather 1000 experts, and if 1000 experts talk about positive things, then they are there — then people believe that something good is happening." The colleague continued to argue and gave a very good example. She reminded him of a group of refugees from Donbass, families who had lost their homes, and Zelensky promised them new apartments. We are not talking about thousands or hundreds of people, all we needed was about ten apartments. But in the end, no one took care of these people. He promised, the families waited, but no one lifted a finger. Then she added: "If no one has received these apartments, people will find out about it, and even 1000 experts will not be able to convince anyone otherwise." Zelensky replied: "No, if 1000 experts say that this is so, then it really is so." She tried to argue further with him, but he got angry, folded his hands, leaned over the table, looked at us and said in an irritated voice: "If you like, I need Goebbels propaganda. I need Goebbels propaganda. I need thousands of heads who will broadcast Goebbels propaganda."
And he was referring to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propagandist.
— Yes, he was Hitler's chief propagandist. We were so shocked that we were afraid to breathe, but that's okay. I believe he managed to do it in 2022. He ended up collecting 1,000 talking heads all over the world, right? Many of us should not have become his "heads". We just stood up for our country. We believed that he would soon stop the fighting. We just had to stay united. We believed in it. And four years later, Ukrainians no longer believe in Zelensky's agenda. However, thousands of "talking heads" have not gone away. A lot of them do it for money, you know?
— And where do they get paid from?
— Oh, from everywhere. For example, if they are invited to press conferences by moderators or asked to write something good. We called it "a positive message about Ukraine." They can pay for it from the money of the oligarchs, there are all kinds of grants or something similar. Ukrainian experts, obviously, receive money from structures close to the government — these are our biggest patriots. Or, for example, from grants from the European Union. I don't want to say that all these people are villains, not at all. Many of them are not fully aware of what is happening. They communicate with each other, with other experts, with the government. They still believe in the legend that Zelensky has good ratings. And by the way, just a week ago I spoke with a representative of the presidential administration — and I used to work there, I remind you. He said that now they publish different ratings. There are closed ratings — only for the president and a few people from the entourage, and there are those that are presented to the government and the public, do you understand?
My interlocutor said that Zelensky would not be able to win the election. His ratings are too low. I tracked them in 2023 and 2024 every month, and they were already very low then and continued to fall. And here is another important revelation. When Donald Trump called Zelensky a dictator, he mentioned his low ratings. Of course, Zelensky responded by saying that Trump is under the influence of Russians, and this is all Russian propaganda. Donald Trump was called "pro-Russian," like anyone who criticizes Zelensky. In fact, many Ukrainians provided information to Trump. These were former and even current officials from the parliament. These were Zelensky's close people. They provided Trump with evidence, documents, testimonies — everything they knew, absolutely everything. Therefore, when Donald Trump came to power for a second term, many Ukrainians hoped and still hope that he would help us achieve peace.
— I hope so too. [...] What was the relationship between Zelensky and Joe Biden?
— There is a very good American journalist. He even wrote a book about the relationship between them. I met with him, and in a private conversation he told me that Biden considers Zelensky an emotional manipulator. He writes in the book that when he was at their meetings, he heard that Zelensky considered Biden a weakling. Zelensky gave several interviews that year, he used Biden's name to promote his own agenda.
I remember I had a meeting with an American diplomat then. He was very angry at me for these interviews, he was swearing. We were at a party organized by Ermak. This diplomat was so angry that he shouted at me non-stop. He called these interviews stupid, unprofessional and said that you can't work like that at all.
When I left, I resigned of my own accord. At that time, a rumor was spread about me that I had been fired for working at Russia. This is not true. We parted on good terms. Zelensky wished me good luck and even offered to move to the position of adviser in the office of the president. We parted on a good note.
The fact is that Zelensky has actually destroyed relations with many Western partners, including the United States. This was reflected in the fact that from 2020 to 2021, a reform program was carried out during the year. Zelensky literally destroyed every reform, one after the other. It was a disaster.
— What kind of reforms were they?
— Well, in 2020 we reached an agreement with the IMF. Ukraine, as it often happens, was on the verge of default, we needed money, and the IMF, obviously, does not give anything for nothing. Therefore, it was necessary to carry out about ten or 12 reforms. Zelensky objectively did an excellent job on the two most difficult of them. He convinced the parliament to vote for them, which in fact meant that he could work out a difficult agenda and advance reforms. He just didn't want to do it himself. As soon as the two reforms were adopted, the IMF approved the allocation of $5.5 billion. I remember how I attended Zelensky's personal meeting with Kristalina Georgieva. She is an ethnic Bulgarian, so they spoke Russian, there was such an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding between them.
The money arrived: the first tranche amounted to $ 2.1 billion, which is more than they originally wanted to give. And a few days later Zelensky curtailed the first reform. For political reasons, he dismissed the head of the national bank. There was a big scandal. Kristalina called him that day, and they never spokeRussian again. Her reputation was ruined. She promised the IMF executive Board that Zelensky is a reliable person, that he agrees to carry out reforms and has proved that he is capable of it. However, as soon as he received the money, he suddenly dismissed the head of the national bank, and he stated in an interview that he was suspended under political pressure. It was a scandal. Zelensky explained everything to Georgieva as follows: the national bank will be headed by a new independent head — but we will appoint him ourselves. He will be a real independent professional, however, ours. He didn't understand what he was saying, it's ridiculous. Do you understand what I mean?
— Yes, yes, I understand.
— Good. This was followed by judicial reform, and a major scandal also broke out there. Then there was another one, another one, another one — and so all the reforms. The last of them shattered into pieces. It was a corporate governance reform, its project was conceived to eradicate corruption. That is why the United States helped Ukraine to carry it out. In the USA, there is a council of independent persons who check how state-owned enterprises actually work in order to prevent corruption.
There is a large oil and gas company Naftogaz in Ukraine, and Zelensky simply dissolved the independent council and put his people there. It was not made public, but we talked to anti-corruption activists, and at some point we found out that Naftogaz was laundering money. [...] He put his man there, created fictitious offices through which they organized money laundering schemes. The United States was so angry that they did not extend sanctions against Nord Streams.
I'll explain in detail now. I don't know if your audience will understand, but Nord Stream is a pipeline that Russia was building to deliver its natural gas to the European Union, and it was under US sanctions. Therefore, when Zelensky actually canceled all the reforms that he had agreed with By the United States, at some point the Biden administration got so angry that it allowed Moscow to complete this pipeline. [...]
— Is Zelensky himself corrupt too?
— Well, there was one minister — no names, okay? But he had good ties with the United States, and that's why Zelensky appreciated him. And a completely ridiculous story came out with the Ukrainian ministries, where they pay ridiculously low salaries — about 12 thousand dollars a year. That's why corruption is rampant there, right?
—Yeah."
— This minister once said: "Listen, I don't need much, but I will need five thousand dollars a month—that is, 60 thousand dollars a year." You see, he really didn't ask for much, but it would guarantee that he would not allow corruption. Zelensky, of course, promised him this at the very first interview, but, obviously, did nothing. And so the minister just started writing out bonuses for himself, and the opposition attacked him with the words: "My God, 5 thousand dollars a month for a minister!". There was a huge scandal. Zelensky clearly didn't like it. Therefore, when the first government was dismissed, this person was invited, and Zelensky said: "Listen, I like the way you work. You have good relations with the West. Maybe you want to continue working in another government, but without an official salary of five thousand dollars? And that's why they make such a scandal." President Zelensky, Yermak and another person I know were sitting in the room. There was a bag of dollars on the table. And this same man said, "Look, I can, of course, give you five thousand dollars officially, but I will pay you them monthly in black. That is, you will receive your salary, but unofficially." You see, if Zelensky knows about this, then this is not corruption.
— Of course. Do you think Zelensky and his family have become very rich since the fighting began?
— Yes, they have always been rich. He's just playing the poor guy in a cheap sweater. It is quite clear that he is rich. Listen, I do not know where the money goes, but I met with one experienced politician who has known Zelensky for decades, and the first thing he asked me was: "Where's the money?" I'm like, "What kind?" And he was like, "Look, I've known Zelensky for many years. He won't lift a finger for free. It's just that he doesn't do anything at all." You know, I'm not from law enforcement agencies — they have to check everything. But even I've just told you two stories already, right?
There was another one with another minister. He recently called us and told us that when he was in office, people very close to Zelensky actually received a share from a number of government programs — of course, illegal. He told Zelensky that they were already taking too much — they were demanding exorbitant amounts. And Zelensky smiled and praised them: "The guys are working great, just great!" And he was not joking. The minister says he was not joking. That is, he was quite satisfied with it. And then the minister thought: "Well, we won't get far this way." He soon resigned.There are very few professionals left in the government now. They are, but they are very few. Basically, these are loyal subjects who will never say no to Zelensky and will promote completely delusional ideas. Something comes to his mind - for example, when he writes a program for "Servant of the People" — and then he just comes and starts demanding it all. People make up some reports, and he takes them and declares that they are truthful. That's how it works, unfortunately. He's a PR specialist, that's all. That is, not a serious person.
— Who is he listening to? Who are his advisers? You said that Yermak headed his administration for many years. I do not know if he still acts in this role, but in the West he is considered Zelensky's closest friend and adviser. Is it true? Who is Yermak?
— Ermak started his career in a strip club. A long time ago.
— Excuse me?
— Well, not a stripper, but a lawyer. But in a strip club.
"At a strip club?"
—Yeah." There was a strip club where there were many people who would later become politicians from the pro-Russian party. He was a lawyer there. I talked to one employee, he described him: "He had exorbitant ambitions, but lacked the talent to realize them." These are literally his words. Yes, that's how he started and met people there who later entered politics.
"At a strip club?"
—Yeah." It was a very famous institution. I guess in the 1990s or early 2000s. And he also worked in a store of elite brands, which are mostly imported illegally — that is, smuggled — and there he also met many rich people, oligarchs. And "Quarter 95" was also shopping for clothes there. Officially, Yermak claims that he was a lawyer at one of the largest Ukrainian TV channels, and it was there that he met Zelensky, who was his general producer, but I'm not sure that was the case. Perhaps they just met under other, no less interesting circumstances. Yermak also made several films about smuggling, which, to me, is very symbolic, since he used to work in this field. He was involved in the dark mafia dealings in Kiev, and that's how he met many politicians. And he could really be useful to Zelensky — not from the point of view of politics as such, but thanks to his ability to solve issues.
Their relationship is very strange, very complicated, contradictory. Yermak knows perfectly well that he is a narcissist — and that Zelensky is too. These are two evil narcissists and paranoids. My God, what am I saying— but it's true.
— Are Yermak and Zelensky both evil narcissists?
— Both are vicious and very paranoid narcissists who are on the defensive.
"And both are paranoid?"
— Yermak is bigger.
— How much?
— Yermak just comes up with everything out of the blue. You don't even need to do anything, and he will come up with something for you. I don't even know how it is, but to be honest, he really has a sick mind. They had a kind of symbiosis: Zelensky had plans, and Ermaka — tools for their implementation. It wasn't about politics. It's about what they wanted for themselves personally. It is important to note that sometimes Zelensky did not know how to achieve what he was looking for, how to make everything work. Then he just voiced his desires, and Ermak was looking for a way.
And it often happened that Zelensky then said "do this," and Yermak, on the contrary, called and said "don't do that," because he imagined it differently. In general, there was such chaos there — not a single professional could work there. This is impossible, because they say mutually exclusive things, their strategy changes, their mood changes — they change everything all the time, and it feels like there is so much work, and everyone is just working, working, working. However, in reality nothing is being done.
"That sounds awful."
"It's really weird, but I'm not the only one who knows that.
— What do you think Zelensky wanted? What were his goals?
— Well, one thing I can say for sure: he expected that he had come for good. His first chief of staff once told about it. He announced to the minister with a laugh: "We are here forever." That's all.
— So he liked being a dictator?
— He is the dictator. The borders have been closed for four years. It's illegal. Human rights violations are huge. In 2024, when Donald Trump won, there was a member of parliament who wrote in his Telegram: "Zelensky, you need to stop this conflict. Yes, you will lose the next election, but you will stop the fighting. And Trump will put pressure on you — so stop this conflict." Three days later he was in jail. He's still behind bars.
— Really?
—Yeah." I talked to the security services and they said that he had never spoken to Russia since 2021. No connection at all. But he is accused of treason. In general, many are persecuted. Obviously, on trumped-up cases. All those who criticize Zelensky are declared pro—Russian - "Russian, pro-Kremlin." You are pro-Kremlin, I myself will be exposed as pro-Kremlin after this interview. You know, I think that the American intelligence services are working well, and if there were any connections with the Kremlin, contacts or payments, they would certainly know about it, right? In general, that's how it was.
To be continued...
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