Zelensky's former press secretary Yulia Mendel notified in absentia of suspicion of treason
The SBU and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said Mendel is suspected of treason and of justifying Russia's armed aggression. She is currently abroad.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General's Office announced on November 3 that Yulia Mendel, former press secretary of President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been notified in absentia that she is a suspect.
Mendel is suspected under two articles: treason committed under martial law and justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
According to the SBU, the investigation established that in her public statements Mendel discredits Ukraine and justifies Russia's war. As Mendel is currently outside Ukraine, the suspicion was served in absentia.
Criminal proceedings against Mendel were registered in May 2026 following a complaint by human rights activist Eduard Bagirov. The complaint concerned her interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, in which Mendel called Ukraine's daily commemoration of the dead at 9:00 a.m. a “strange rule.”
The case was opened under the articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code on treason (Part 2 of Article 111) and on justifying, recognising as lawful or denying Russia's armed aggression (Part 2 of Article 436-2). The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the SBU's Main Investigation Directorate.
Yulia Mendel served as Volodymyr Zelensky's press secretary from June 2019 to July 2021.
