“Either a stupid woman or a traitor.” Political scientist on Julia Mendel's interview

The simplest: he is clearly an ambitious person, he wants fame. However, her fame when she was Zelensky's press secretary ended quite quickly [po tym, jak odepchnęła dziennikarza Radia Swoboda, który chciał zadać pytanie prezydentowi Zełenskiemu]. And in a very shameful way. She also faced a lot of criticism.

Then she wrote a book [“Każdy z nas jest Prezydentem”]in which she publicly supported Zelensky. But this didn't make her famous either.

We don't know exactly what happened that prompted her to criticize Zelensky so sharply, even aggressively. Perhaps she decided to present herself as his critic to attract attention.

“Mendel may work for Russia”

It certainly attracted attention. But how did she end up with Tucker Carlson?

Exactly. Carlson is a person with clearly pro-Russian and, at the same time, anti-Ukrainian views. Many people suspect that he has connections either with the Kremlin or even with the FSB. The interview with Putin, the spread of overtly pro-Russian narratives and rumors originating from Russia – all this proves his ties to Putin's state.

And at this point Julija Mendel agrees to interview such a person. And during the interview, he spreads pro-Russian narratives. I was even told that some commenters noticed how she was adapting to Tucker Carlson during this conversation – even in terms of body language.

So you're saying Mendel might be working for Russia?

There is this version, I also lean towards it. I have heard it from Western journalists and Ukrainian politicians: perhaps unknowingly, but it is used by the Russian secret services.

Perhaps they helped establish contact with Tucker Carlson or drew his attention to Mendel – “Zelensky's former spokeswoman is now speaking aggressively, she needs to be shown to the American audience.” But the most important thing is what she said. And the way she said it. Everything is clearly a game to Russia's advantage.

Sorry, maybe I'll put it bluntly: either she's a stupid woman who's being used behind her back, or she's a conscious traitor who's working for the enemy.

Mendel repeated the theses of Russian propaganda

In addition to repeating Russian narratives, she simply openly lied.

Yes, some of the things she said were just outright lies. Or she spoke about topics she had no knowledge of.

For example, her words about Donbas and talks in Istanbul. That's not true. The topic of Donbas was not discussed at that time. In the case of Donbas and Crimea, it was a different story: the Ukrainian side proposed postponing the status issue for the future, for 10-15 years. There was no talk of “giving Donbas back”. Therefore, it is a completely Russian narrative.

It is also absolutely certain that this is a phrase from the Kremlin: Russia wants peace, and Zelensky does not want to end the war and is clinging to power. Mendel said what people in Russia wanted to hear.

In Ukraine, society received this interview very negatively.

Of course. Criticism of Zelensky can be heard in Ukraine. But she did not only speak out against Zelensky. It was, in essence, against Ukraine. These statements that Ukrainians are “forced to sing the anthem” are simply offensive, because every day at 9 a.m. there is a minute of silence in honor of fallen soldiers. This is anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. And even people who regularly criticize Zelensky are now criticizing Mendel. All the key theses she presented were, in fact, Russian propaganda theses.

Volodymyr ZelenskyAA/ABACA / PAP

Do you accept the possibility that she could have cooperated with the Russian services while working in the President's Office?

We don't know that. But the question is valid. I have even seen posts on social media suggesting that the Security Service of Ukraine missed something here. After all, this is a person who had access to high positions. Maybe they broke it. Maybe they bought it. Maybe they took advantage of her ambitions. We don't know.

Significant influence of intelligence in the USA

How serious could the consequences of this interview be for Ukraine?

In Ukraine, although it is a paradox, the interview with Mendel partially worked to Zelensky's advantage. The reaction was very severe.

However, in the USA the situation is more complex. Tucker Carlson's audience is the Republican part of American society that is critical of both Ukraine and Zelensky. There are people there who believe that America should negotiate with Russia as with a great power, and Ukraine and Europe must listen to the stronger ones. And it is precisely this audience that Mendel's words may have an impact on. Especially those who hesitate: whether to support Ukraine or not. They may start to be more critical of Zelensky.

So Russia will use this as part of an information war?

Definitely. Both in the United States and partly in Europe, this can be used as an argument against supporting Ukraine. But in Europe, to a lesser extent – there they have a better understanding of what happened and less attention was paid to this interview. However, there may be theses like: “Look, what corruption, what problems, what president – why help Ukraine?”

In Europe, the effect will be minimal. However, in the US, some influence is possible, especially if people close to Trump want to use it to put pressure on Ukraine.

And may there be talks about elections in Ukraine again?

Yes, that is possible too. In the USA, this topic comes back to from time to time. Therefore, everything will depend on the political situation. If they need to put pressure on Ukraine, they will use both these statements and this scandal. However, if there is a need to demonstrate a constructive approach in negotiations, then they can forget about it for a while. Unfortunately, all this has already become part of the information war against Ukraine.