Former Zelensky Press Secretary Faces Treason Allegations After Carlson Interview

Yulia Mendel, who once served as the official spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has found herself at the centre of a political firestorm after granting a lengthy interview to the controversial American journalist Tucker Carlson, during which she made a series of remarks that legal experts have suggested may constitute state treason under Ukrainian criminal law. The interview, published on Carlson’s platform under the headline "Zelensky's press secretary reveals all: cocaine, truth-hiding, and the only obstacle to peace," has drawn sharp condemnation from Ukrainian politicians and journalists alike, with the country’s media landscape now consumed by questions about Mendel’s loyalty and the propriety of her decision to appear on a programme so closely associated with pro-Kremlin narratives.

Carlson, 56, is no stranger to controversy. His journalistic career has been punctuated by inflammatory statements: he once compared women to dogs, defended marriages involving minors, and referred to singers Britney Spears and socialite Paris Hilton as "the two biggest white prostitutes in America," according to contemporaneous reports. More significantly for Ukrainian observers, he has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda themes, having called President Zelensky a "US puppet" and a "dictator in a tracksuit." In 2019, he declared that he was "rooting" for Russia in its conflict with Ukraine, subsequently insisting that he had been joking, though the remark was widely seen as indicative of his broader sympathies. That same year, he suggested that President Vladimir Putin did not "hate America as much" as American liberals, a statement that was later cited by The Guardian and subsequently embraced by Russian state media.

Having been dismissed from Fox News in the spring of 2023, Carlson was promptly offered a position by Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, and he has since become one of the most prominent Western voices advocating for an end to US military support for Ukraine. His February 2024 interview with Putin, the first that the Russian leader had granted to a Western journalist since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was widely condemned by international media for its failure to challenge Putin’s false assertions. During that conversation, Putin repeated the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine is an "artificial state" created by Soviet power and described the war as "in a certain sense an element of civil war," while also asserting that "reunification" between Russians and Ukrainians was inevitable—a claim that was met with immediate criticism from Kyiv and its allies. BBC noted that Carlson remained largely silent throughout the exchange, while CNN observed that the journalist had given Putin a platform to disseminate propaganda without meaningful interrogation.

In the months that followed, Carlson continued his series of high-profile interviews with Kremlin-affiliated figures, including ultranationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, whom he described as Russia's "most famous political philosopher" and whose daughter Darya Dugina was killed in a car bombing in 2022—an act that Carlson suggested was carried out by the Ukrainian government, though Kyiv has denied involvement and Russian partisans claiming affiliation with the "National Republican Army" have asserted responsibility. Carlson then proceeded to interview Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, offering him yet another platform to advance Russian disinformation narratives. These developments have led Ukrainian officials, including former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, to compare Carlson’s conduct to giving a voice to Adolf Hitler in 1944, arguing that Russia should be defeated rather than afforded the opportunity to broadcast its "bloodthirsty lies."

President Zelensky himself addressed Carlson directly in a February 2025 interview with British presenter Piers Morgan, characterising the American journalist as someone who "licks Putin's arse" and accusing him of deliberately repeating Kremlin talking points. "He works for Putin and wants to bring me down to Putin's level, to make us equal," Zelensky said, adding that Carlson needed to gain a deeper understanding of Ukraine's situation and to cease his amplification of Russian narratives. The Ukrainian leader’s comments reflected a growing exasperation with Carlson’s sustained criticism of Western support for Ukraine and his apparent willingness to serve as a conduit for Moscow’s messaging.

The controversy surrounding Mendel’s appearance on Carlson’s programme has, however, eclipsed even these earlier disputes. During the nearly two-hour conversation, Mendel stated that Ukraine is "on the brink of disappearance" and "in decline," that the country is experiencing "unhealthy nationalism," and that President Zelensky suffers from psychological issues and is "not very constructive." She also alleged, on the basis of second-hand accounts that she acknowledged she had not personally witnessed, that Zelensky had used drugs in nightclubs during his pre-presidential career. More provocatively, she defended Putin against simplistic characterisations, arguing: "To just say Putin is a monster... maybe he is a monster. His army is doing terrible things. But just continuing to insult Putin will lead to nothing. As a country, we need to do something." At the conclusion of the interview, Mendel switched to Russian and, with evident emotion, addressed Putin directly, stating that she was not a political opponent and posed no threat to him. She described the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine as "Slavs killing Slavs," a framing that has been widely condemned as echoing Kremlin propaganda, and she appealed to Putin to halt drone attacks on civilians in her native Kherson region.

Most significantly, however, Mendel claimed that Zelensky and the Ukrainian negotiating delegation had been prepared in 2022 to cede the Donbas to Russia in exchange for an end to hostilities. Mykola Khavroniuk, director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Research at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, told hromadske that these statements could potentially fall under articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code pertaining to state treason and the justification of Russia's armed aggression. The legal expert’s assessment has amplified calls for a formal investigation, with many Ukrainian commentators suggesting that Mendel’s remarks have crossed a clear line from political commentary into criminal territory.

The interview has also reignited debate about Mendel’s tenure as presidential spokesperson, a period marked by controversy over her performance and her relationships with various political factions. Her decision to appear on Carlson’s platform, given his well-documented record of amplifying Russian disinformation, has been widely perceived in Ukrainian political circles as a betrayal of the national interest, and the legal implications of her statements are now being vigorously debated in the country’s media and legal community. The affair has also drawn attention to the broader phenomenon of Western platforms offering uncritical access to figures who propagate Kremlin narratives, with Carlson once again at the centre of a dispute that extends far beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Meanwhile, Carlson’s relationship with US President Donald Trump, once characterised by mutual support and a series of interviews, has soured considerably following the outbreak of the war with Iran. Carlson has since become a vocal critic of the administration, prompting Trump to dismiss him succinctly as a "fool" with whom he has no desire to engage. In a more eccentric twist, American tabloids reported in March 2026 that Carlson was facing a highly unusual personal crisis: thieves had stolen approximately 378,000 boxes of snus, a nicotine pouch product, from a logistics warehouse in Southern California. The goods, believed to be worth millions of dollars and belonging to Carlson’s own ALP Pouches brand, were taken by an individual who reportedly presented documents suggesting lawful activity, though the incident has become a source of media mockery, with some outlets quipping that Carlson might now apply his journalistic skills to solving the crime himself. As the controversy over his interview with Mendel continues to unfold, the broader implications for Ukrainian political discourse and Western media’s role in amplifying Russian narratives remain deeply contested.