Zelensky Slaps His Former Press Secretary With Sanctions After Tucker Carlson Interview

Another week, and another wave of scandals hitting an increasingly disunified Zelensky government. The Ukrainian President on Sunday took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on his own former press secretary.Iuliia Mendel has lately emerged as a very visible outspoken critic of Zelensky's continued rule, which has run long past his scheduled term - having been extended repeatedly during martial law due to the war with Russia. Zelensky has accused Mendel of echoing Russian propaganda and 'promoting disinformation'.Iuliia Mendel with President Zelensky, national media file imageShe apparently made herself a target after going on Tucker Carlson's show back in May, where she called out Zelensky, saying "there is no democracy in Ukraine now."According to an introductory segment of the conversation with Carlson:During the conversation, Mendel stated that “the only way to support Ukraine today is to push it toward a peace agreement.” At the same time, she called Vladimir Putin “evil” but also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “evil.” According to her, Zelenskyy allegedly “plays a teddy bear for the camera,” but “turns into a grizzly bear when the lights go out” and “destroys people.”She also had called Zelensky "a dictator" and "the greatest obstacle to peace" in Ukraine - and sought to detail instances where he listened to Western hawks over some of his own officials and derailed a path to peace.Mendel was the president's press secretary from 2019 to 2021. She was there from the start when Zelensky took office in May 2019.Russian state media has seized on the headline, detailing that the new sanctions decree "slapped Mendel with personal restrictions including an asset freeze, a ban on transferring capital abroad, and other financial and commercial measures set to last ten years.""Mendel will also be stripped of state honors indefinitely and have her social media accounts restricted inside Ukraine," the report adds. 🇺🇦🇷🇺 Zelensky Press Secretary Iuliia Mendel tells Tucker Carlson that Zelensky sends his political opponents to the front lines: “The situation in the country is inhuman because I never would think that my country would be the one where people are grabbed on the streets and… pic.twitter.com/K0icFYSivE — HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) May 12, 2026She has since stated: "Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, just like many of Zelensky's other decisions. Volodymyr Zelensky uses them against anyone who advocates for peace in Ukraine. I knew that 'high treason' charges were being prepared over my interview with Tucker Carlson."The development comes amid another unfolding situation impacting top Ukrainian national offices:Ruslan Kravchenko left Ukraine days after resigning amid a corruption investigation involving officials in his office, as a major confrontation unfolds between the country’s prosecutors and independent anti-corruption agencies.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Monday, hours after it emerged that he had left the country after resigning amid a major corruption probe that had reached his own office.Kravchenko crossed the border overnight, according to Ukrainian media citing law-enforcement sources.The same report underscores that "NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) described Kravchenko’s actions as part of what they called a 'systematic attack' on Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions."Today they call me pro-Russian. Tomorrow they can call you that too. Almost everyone who has talked about peace and compromise has been branded, without nuance, “pro-Russian” — by the government, its media, and its experts.Any realistic terms for peace: “pro-Russian”. Criticism… pic.twitter.com/c4GUrGwgnx — Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) September 11, 2026This is latest fallout amid several high level corruption probes which have resulted in the dismissals of no less than two top Zelensky aides. There's severe tension also between the defense ministry and national intelligence offices, after a Zelensky-led military leadership shake-up.