Yulia Mendel, the former press secretary to the President of Ukraine, made an “epic” return to the media landscape in the winter of 2026 after many years of silence, with a series of revelations about her former boss, Andriy Yermak.
She accused him of using occult practices as a means of governing the country and claimed that this could influence the negotiation process aimed at ending the war and other critical issues.
At the time, these statements caused quite a stir but were quickly forgotten. The outcome of that story was a conclusion regarding Mendel’s own mental stability, as well as the professionalism of the people who appointed her to an important position and kept her there – apparently – for two years longer than necessary.
But it was naive to think that others wouldn’t take advantage of Yulia Mendel’s willingness to spout outright nonsense and make a fool of herself in front of a wide audience. The famous TV personality Tucker Carlson turned out to be the new hunter of sensational stories. A former Trump supporter and current admirer of Putin and the Iranian ayatollahs invited Yulia Mendel onto his show, in order to use leading questions to prod her into supposedly confirming all the fake news about her former employers, including President Zelenskyy.
Mendel then decided to go all the way with her disgrace. A new “low” came when she accepted an invitation from the pro-Russian far-right party “Alternative for Germany” to a session exposing the “crimes of the Kyiv regime.” This was the last straw for Mendel’s former employers – on September 13, 2026, she was placed under sanctions, and on November 3, she was finally charged with treason.
24 Channel recalls the strange but highly revealing story of Yulia Mendel.
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Who Is Yulia Mendel and How Did She End Up in the Presidential Office?
Yulia Mendel is a Ukrainian journalist and columnist, and currently a writer and blogger. She graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in philology and later defended her dissertation there. Yulia has no formal education in journalism; however, this is not a major obstacle and is not considered a faux pas.
Interestingly, she later wrote an exposé about her experience as a graduate student, in which she admitted to receiving her degree in exchange for a $200 bribe. She subsequently sued her own academic advisor over this matter (and won).
Yulia began her career in television, working both on camera (as a reporter) and behind the scenes (as an editor) at well-known and popular channels – ICTV and Espreso TV – and served as a correspondent for 112 Ukraine in the U.S. and a journalist for the international desk at Inter.
At the same time, Yulia wrote as a freelancer for well-known Western publications such as The New York Times, Politico Europe, and others. She studied and interned in prestigious international programs, including at Yale University.
It’s certainly an impressive resume, at least on paper. Perhaps it was precisely this that served as the decisive factor in Yulia Mendel’s appointment as press secretary to the inexperienced President Zelenskyy, who was elected in 2019 on a wave of emotional enthusiasm and sky-high expectations.
At the same time, there are questions regarding the hiring process and its transparency. Sevgil Musaeva, the current editor-in-chief of “Ukrainska Pravda,” was long considered the favorite; however, out of 4,000 resumes, it was not her but Yulia Mendel who was selected.
The position of press secretary to the President of Ukraine is a challenging one and can even be considered “cursed.” Not everyone is up to the task. And it’s worth noting that Yulia Mendel failed to handle this task almost immediately. More precisely, she botched it.
Her inability to choose appropriate clothing and her lack of taste were the least of her problems, since style is not an exact science, and even recognized experts cannot be considered the ultimate authority.
Mendel’s trouble was that from the very beginning she found herself at the center of scandals and rumors, and her attacks on journalists, her inappropriate grandstanding (which even Arestovych himself would have envied), and her inability to establish normal communication became the textbook example of how not to do things.
While working as Zelenskyy’s press secretary, Mendel did not give up journalism, but the tone of her articles changed – she shifted from exposing the problems and vices of Ukrainian society to “uplifting” pieces about how great things are right now and how they’ll be even better in the future.
“You didn’t push anyone, did you, Yulia?” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy trolls Yulia Mendel and, by extension, the media during a major press briefing on October 1, 2019, alluding to the scandal involving the shoving of journalists.
At some point, there were so many “scandals” and clumsy attempts to cover them up that Yulia Mendel was removed from her position and replaced by the much more tactful Serhiy Nikiforov, who remains in that position to this day.
Yulia Mendel – a figure in the gossip columns: watch the video
Immediately after her dismissal, Mendel tried to capitalize on her success and quickly wrote an autobiography about her own experience working in the President’s Office. The book, titled *Each of Us Is the President*, did not become a sensation, but it did attract the attention of Mendel’s “fan club.”
She was criticized for superficiality, “sucking up” to the president, exaggerating her own role in political processes, disrespecting the Revolution of Dignity, manipulation, and bias. Most importantly, it was uninteresting and frankly rather weak.
Yulia Mendel tried to correct the mistakes of her literary debut in her second book – the English-language *The Fight of Our Lives* (2022). It turned out better; this book has already received decent reviews abroad.
Mendel’s Attack on Yermak
Ukrainians remembered Yulia Mendel again in late 2025, when she unexpectedly burst onto Vlasty Lazur’s show on Radio Liberty to talk about her former boss – Andriy Yermak. It was he who fired Yulia Mendel in the spring of 2021 and launched her career as a writer.
Yulia Mendel’s “roasting” of Yermak: watch the video
Now Yermak himself has been fired and finds himself out of government service, misunderstood and reviled by literally everyone. His former subordinate didn’t hold back and delivered a powerful media blow to her boss.
The “revelatory” interview went viral, not because Yermak is such a scoundrel, but precisely because of Yulia Mendel’s manner of speaking and the dissonance between her words and the high-ranking position she briefly, but nevertheless held.
Apparently, Yulia Mendel’s success in December wasn’t enough, so she decided to finish off Yermak and completely ruin his preparations – which he himself had announced – for heading to the front lines.
That same post by Yulia Mendel:
On January 31, 2026, on her Facebook page, she published a scathing analysis of the occult practices of the Office of the President and Andriy Yermak personally.
Ms. Mendel stated that Yermak is a practitioner of black magic, believes in otherworldly forces, and, in his capacity as head of the Office of the President (or, as Steve Witkoff says, Vice President of Ukraine) he actively enlisted foreign sorcerers from Israel, Georgia, and “some Latin American country” to perform magical rituals, based on the results of which he made critical political decisions:
…Yermak could have worked with professionals in politics and economics, read books, and developed his skills as a politician and government official. Instead, he tried to block or harness other people’s energies, as he imagined it. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the statistics were also mangled under his leadership… I understand that in politics, you can’t win with brains alone. But without them, you won’t get anywhere either.
Mendel also stated that Yermak isn’t the only one in Ukrainian politics prone to magical thinking, but she literally confirmed right after that she herself practices it – though on the “right side,” that is, the “light side”:
Today, when the country is without heat, light, and basic necessities, all we can do is laugh at this magical “politics” – if we have the strength to do so. However, I’ll say that in Ukrainian politics, Yermak is far from the only one who practices magical rituals… Andriy, when you read this, keep in mind that every decision and action you take will now be reflected back to you. And God is stronger. He was. He is. And He always will be. You should have chosen the side of light from the very beginning.
Interestingly, in the book mentioned above, Mendel had a completely different opinion of Yermak.
Here’s what she wrote about Andriy Yermak and his predecessor, Andriy Bohdan:
If you were to see the two Andriys who headed the Office of the President together, it would be a sight not for the faint of heart. Upon seeing Yermak, Bohdan would turn into a boorish lout, shouting out proposals that defied all logic. Yermak remained silent, behaving like a noble aristocrat, only occasionally reacting to the madness of his namesake...
Or another example:
It’s hard to imagine a person more dedicated to his goals and with more original approaches. Sometimes while traveling, he (Yermak – 24 Channel) would sacrifice sleep, thinking about how to fix the situation, and come up with the most unexpected and correct solutions… Moreover, Yermak was the only one on the team who was truly working to become an experienced diplomat
Now, however, the original approaches of someone who works tirelessly to become an experienced diplomat have turned out to be “cringe,” and Yermak himself, according to Mendel, is “a brainless person.”
What’s wrong with Mendel
With this post, Yulia hit the jackpot again – in a short time, she had over 1,600 likes, more than 700 comments, and just as many shares. The post sparked a major debate among experts and simply generated a lot of memes on social media.
Perhaps the best was the pun “Andriy the Witcher,” which plays on the surname of Zelenskyy’s former head of the patronage service and the iconic fantasy hero from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.
People made fun of both Yermak and Mendel. Some recalled the pile of bracelets and various amulets that Yermak wore on his wrists, even at important international meetings. Others took an interest in the identity of the unknown “minister” who rushed to “Mendel herself” to share some alarming news about her boss.
Some speculated that it might have been former Minister of Culture Volodymyr Borodyansky, who, prior to his brief stint in the government, worked in television and, as head of the STB channel, was involved with the show “Battle of the Psychics.” And then, as minister, he publicly defended the show and justified its incredible public benefit with the help of the police.
Some chose to skip the jokes and pointed out that, prior to her attacks on Yermak, Mendel had hinted on social media that Ukraine bears responsibility for the suffering of civilians caused by Russian shelling, because, you see, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are shelling Russian territory.
Stories are pouring in from all over – from acquaintances, relatives, and friends. Social media is exploding with accounts of life in sub-zero temperatures without electricity, and sometimes without heat or water. Our leadership continues to blame Putin and the West for insufficient missile supplies and constantly reports new strikes deep inside Russia that have no immediate impact comparable to what has been felt in Ukraine… Many people are asking whether this strategy of shifting the war to Russia is worth the suffering endured by the Ukrainian nation
Blogger Denis Kazansky debunks Yulia Mendel’s claims:
Are Mendel’s accusations true? In short – we don’t know. Yermak himself remains silent; he has even abandoned his fairly popular Telegram channel and no longer posts emojis. Nor has the unknown journalist mentioned by Mendel, who allegedly saw Yermak at the cemetery doing something strange and unsavory, stepped forward to take responsibility. The anonymous minister is no longer telling anyone scary stories about Yermak, and “even the member of parliament” is just hyping things up – but without fanaticism.
We’ve had more than enough exposés and insider revelations from anonymous sources about Yermak in the media over the past few months. Adding a touch of magic to the mix only spoils it. On the other hand, no one would be surprised if this were actually happening.
- Think back to RUN-Vira, AllatRa, the “Embassy of God” from the days of Kyiv’s “cosmic mayor” Chernovetskyi, Pastor Muntian’s sect, and other followers of charismatic cults. Don’t forget the network of “contactees” with outer space led by Dmytro Gordon and his legendary little pyramids.
- Indeed, quite a few Ukrainian politicians sincerely believe in fortune-tellers, sorcerers, molfars, and shamans, and some of them pay exorbitant sums for this. We remember the soothsayers of President Yushchenko’s wife, Yanukovych’s “elders,” and so on.
And in this regard, they aren’t far removed from their own voters, who still sincerely believe in tarot cards, consult with “Veronika Feng Shui,” and drive up the ratings of the aforementioned “Battle of the Psychics.”
So, if Yermak – or anyone else in the President’s Office – was indeed collecting water from corpses, burning herbs, and making voodoo dolls, that’s actually proof that none of it works. Well, or perhaps he was using all those liquids and amulets incorrectly. Someone like that, of course, has no business being on Bankova Street. We hope Yermak’s successor will learn from this.
There are countless examples of magical thinking in the modern world; we won’t list them here so as not to offend the sensibilities of believers. We’ll discuss this in more detail in a separate article. But let’s recall that even famous politicians of the past were guilty of this.
For example, Portuguese dictator António Salazar believed in horoscopes and kept a special person on staff who provided him with “accurate readings.” U.S. President Ronald Reagan also had his own astrologer; he grew close to her after an assassination attempt from which he miraculously survived. Any savvy YouTube user can tell you about Rasputin and the occult practices of the Third Reich, and people have been laughing for years about Putin bathing in a tub filled with deer antler extract. At the same time, no one knows for sure if this actually happened, but looking at the Russian leader and his antics, it’s easy to believe even stranger things.
Why did Mendel appear on Tucker Carlson’s show?
In May 2026, Yulia Mendel made headlines again. As the author of the book *Each of Us Is the President*, she appeared as a guest on the show hosted by American blogger Tucker Carlson, who is known for being a fan of Putin and Russian bread, and who is also disappointed in Trump and openly calls his election as president – which he helped bring about as a media figure – a huge mistake.
Although Mendel was fired back in 2021, she shared quite a few “inside scoops” with Carlson about the time of the full-scale Russian invasion, and he, as a more experienced media figure, extracted from her confirmation of all his fake news and stereotypes about the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian resistance.
Here’s what Mendel told blogger Carlson:
- Zelenskyy was ready to surrender the entire Donbas in exchange for peace in 2022; her exact words: “Zelenskyy personally agreed to give up the Donbas”;
- She hadn’t seen it herself, but someone had told her that Zelenskyy had once used drugs;
- In 2019, Zelensky personally promised Putin that Ukraine would never join NATO.
At the end of the show, Mendel turned away from Carlson and addressed Putin in Russian. She claimed that the truth was being hidden from him about war crimes committed by Russian troops in her native Kherson region, and with tears in her eyes, she urged the dictator to stop drone strikes on civilians “with a single decree.” Mendel also noted that “there are no winners in this war,” because “Slavs are killing Slavs.”
Details The Office of the President of Ukraine dismissed Mendel's claims that Ukraine had "agreed" to surrender the Donbas in 2022
Current staff members of the Office of the President advised ignoring Yulia Mendel’s words, while her former colleague Dmytro Lytvyn stated in the Office of the President’s press service WhatsApp chat that “This lady… has been out of her mind for a long time.” Given her statements, it’s very easy to believe this assessment.
Mendel Under Sanctions
Of course, Yulia Mendel didn’t stop there. She continued to write pro-Russian nonsense and look for new blunders by the Ukrainian “authorities.” It must be noted that the recent corruption scandals have actively helped her in this regard.
Ukrainians have long understood who Yulia Mendel is, so her statements have gradually turned into “white noise.” But not for foreigners. It’s hard for them to imagine the path this former journalist has taken, and so her articles and interviews, unfortunately, can have an impact in the West.
Anti-Ukrainian forces are actively exploiting this, using Mendel to discredit Ukraine.
On September 16, an event titled “Ukraine: Daring to Pursue Peace. Diplomacy Instead of Escalation” took place in Strasbourg. It is being organized by Hans Neuhoff, a Member of the European Parliament from the far-right “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) party. In 2025, he traveled to a conference in Russia at the invitation of Viktor Medvedchuk, who has been officially exposed as a traitor. The main star of the event will be Yulia Mendel.
Mendel’s appearance is being promoted by the AfD, a party currently enjoying peak popularity following its success in state elections and actively pushing for Germany to withdraw its aid to Ukraine (it should be noted that Germany is the main financial donor to the Ukrainian resistance). Thus, Mendel will take part in an event aimed at discrediting Ukraine in Europe.
This was the last straw for the Ukrainian authorities – on September 13, 2026, Mendel was added to the sanctions list. And it was only on November 3 that it became known that Mendel had been charged with treason (albeit in absentia).
Mendel has been charged / infographic – SBU
The SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office charged Yulia Mendel under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2 of Article 111 (treason committed under martial law);
- Parts 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 (justifying, recognizing as lawful, or denying the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine; glorifying its participants).
According to the SBU, based on the results of comprehensive investigations and relevant expert analyses, it has been established that in her public statements and social media posts, Mendel discredits Ukraine on the international stage and justifies the Kremlin regime and the full-scale war it has launched against Ukraine.
This article was first published in February 2026 following the absurd accusations against Yermak and was updated in May of that same year – after Tucker Carlson’s broadcast, in which Yulia Mendel participated.
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