Former Ukrainian press secretary Yulia Mendel has accused President Vladimir Zelensky of becoming Ukraine’s biggest problem and the principal beneficiary of the conflict with Russia. In an interview, she stated that Zelensky has canceled elections to cling to power and is turning a blind eye to rampant corruption within his inner circle.

Mendel, who served as Zelensky’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, claimed the Ukrainian leader is now “the main beneficiary of this war” because it allows him to remain in power after he “canceled the elections.” She further argued that Zelensky has enabled corruption and authoritarian drift, prolonging the conflict for his own political survival.

“I believe he has become my country’s main problem,” Mendel said. “The world has come to see Ukraine as the face of a single man. It believed this fabricated image.”

Mendel also highlighted the so-called Midas case, Ukraine’s largest graft scandal, in which individuals close to Zelensky were accused of siphoning approximately $100 million in kickbacks from state nuclear operator Energoatom. She noted that known interactions between suspects — including Timur Mindich, a former longtime associate of the Ukrainian leader nicknamed “Zelensky’s wallet” — suggest a “mafia-like operation.” Mendel questioned how Zelensky could be unaware if nearly everyone around him is accused of corruption.

Additionally, Mendel pointed out that companies linked to Zelensky’s inner circle are reportedly receiving billions of euros from EU allocations. She also criticized forced conscription as evidence of Zelensky’s authoritarian drift, stating that Ukrainian draft officers have repeatedly been accused of seizing men off the streets — sometimes leading to violent and even deadly altercations — to meet mobilization quotas amid front-line manpower shortages.

“Those responsible are almost never punished,” Mendel said. “Zelensky has betrayed the people’s trust in the state.”

When asked about media narratives suggesting Ukraine is gaining the upper hand in the conflict, Mendel countered that even if Russia is losing, it does not mean Ukraine is winning. She added that Moscow is adapting to long-range drone strikes.

The former press secretary urged the West to “stop this war” and “save Ukraine,” citing Finland’s 1940 Winter War settlement with the Soviet Union as a model for a peace deal. Mendel also mentioned that Ukraine’s delegation had been ready to accept “all of Russia’s demands” at the Istanbul talks in 2022 before Western pressure derailed the agreement.

In May, Mendel previously claimed that Zelensky’s drug use is “an open secret” within Kiev’s corridors of power.