Former Ukrainian presidential press secretary Yuliia Mendel has returned to Tucker Carlson’s programme with a stark account of sanctions, censorship, mobilisation and Ukraine’s demographic decline. Several central elements of her story are independently verifiable, while some of her most serious allegations remain claims that require evidence beyond the interview
INR Report: Based on an interview with Yuliia Mendel by Tucker Carlson for The Tucker Carlson Show BELOW or
Mendel, who served as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, told Carlson that Ukraine’s government is suppressing Ukrainians who publicly advocate negotiations with Russia. She said she was sanctioned after her earlier Carlson interview and shortly before a planned speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
That core sequence is supported by public records. On 13 September 2026, Zelensky imposed sanctions that included Mendel. Ukraine’s presidential website confirms her inclusion under presidential sanctions decrees. Reuters reported that the measures were imposed for ten years and included asset freezes and other restrictions, while Mendel described the action as unconstitutional and politically motivated.
What is not independently established by the interview is Mendel’s claim that Zelensky personally ordered a process intended to build a treason case against her. She told Carlson that a “linguistic expertise” examination was underway and that she could ultimately face treason charges. That is a serious allegation, but the interview itself does not provide a charging document or court record establishing that treason proceedings have formally commenced.
The European Parliament Incident
Mendel said she had been invited by AfD MEP Hans Neuhoff to speak at an event titled Ukraine: Dare to Choose Peace - Diplomacy, Not Escalation at the European Parliament on 16 September.
She says she was prevented from entering the Parliament building and that translation and other facilities for her appearance were restricted. Interfax-Ukraine independently reported that Mendel said she had been denied entry. The event was organised by an MEP rather than being an official European Parliament event, and Mendel attributed the refusal to the Ukrainian sanctions against her.
Her broader conclusion, that the incident demonstrates a coordinated European effort to suppress Ukrainian peace advocates, goes beyond what the available evidence establishes. The refusal of entry is reported, but the precise decision-making process and motivation behind it require further documentary confirmation.
Ukrainians and Negotiations
One of Mendel’s strongest claims can be tested against independent polling.
She told Carlson that a majority of Ukrainians now want the war brought to an end through negotiations. Gallup’s 2026 polling supports the broad substance of that statement: 66 percent of Ukrainian adults surveyed said Ukraine should seek to negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible, while 24 percent favoured continuing to fight until victory.
That represents a dramatic change from 2022, when Gallup found 73 percent supported fighting until victory and 22 percent supported seeking a negotiated end.
The polling does not establish what terms Ukrainians would accept, nor does support for negotiations necessarily mean accepting Russian territorial demands. It does, however, demonstrate that the public mood has shifted substantially during four years of war.
Elections and Martial Law
Carlson challenged Ukraine’s democratic legitimacy because a presidential election has not been held during the war. Mendel went further, alleging Zelensky had considered an election but wanted potential rivals to stand aside.
That allegation is not independently demonstrated in the material reviewed for this report.
The legal position is clearer. Ukraine remains under martial law, and the Verkhovna Rada’s working group on elections stated in May 2026 that it had reached a consensus that elections cannot be held under martial law. Ukrainian institutions are already examining the legal, security and logistical framework required for post-war elections.
That context matters. The absence of an election is real, but it does not by itself establish Mendel’s allegation that elections are being withheld solely to preserve Zelensky’s personal power.
Mobilisation, Casualties and Demographic Pressure
Mendel’s central argument is demographic: Ukraine cannot indefinitely sustain an attritional war against a much larger Russia without risking severe damage to its population and economy.
She described forced mobilisation, alleged abuse inside recruitment centres, bribery to avoid service and Ukrainians remaining inside their homes to avoid conscription. These claims reflect a wider and highly contentious debate inside Ukraine about mobilisation, but the specific figures she gives, including estimates of corruption and the proportion of conscripts reaching combat, should not be treated as independently established merely because they were stated in the interview.
The same caution applies to casualty numbers. Wartime casualty figures are contested, incomplete and politically sensitive. Mendel cites figures attributed through Polish and Ukrainian sources, then combines military and civilian casualties to illustrate the human cost. Those calculations should be understood as her argument rather than a verified casualty accounting.
Her larger demographic concern, however, is difficult to dismiss. Ukraine has experienced mass displacement, wartime deaths, emigration and a serious pre-existing demographic decline. Whatever the final military outcome, rebuilding the country will require not only territory and infrastructure but people.
Corruption and the War Economy
Mendel also argues that Western military assistance creates powerful economic incentives for defence industries in Europe and Ukraine. She urges journalists to “follow the money”, pointing to weapons production and Ukrainian defence contractors.
There is an important distinction here. A substantial share of military assistance is spent in donor countries purchasing or replacing weapons, meaning headline aid figures do not necessarily represent cash transferred directly to Kyiv. That is a legitimate issue for public scrutiny.
Mendel goes much further, however, alleging that corruption close to Zelensky and defence procurement helps explain continued escalation. She discusses Fire Point, defence contracts, alleged money laundering and purported links between companies and people close to the president.
Those are serious accusations. They should be investigated through procurement records, beneficial ownership information, anti-corruption investigations and court evidence. The Carlson interview alone is not sufficient to establish that Zelensky personally profits from prolonging the war.
Censorship or Wartime Security?
The hardest question raised by the interview is where legitimate wartime national security ends and political censorship begins.
Ukraine faces a genuine Russian information warfare campaign alongside missile, drone and military attacks. Governments at war have a legitimate interest in countering hostile intelligence operations and propaganda.
But that does not make every criticism of government policy Russian propaganda.
Mendel explicitly condemns Russia’s invasion and Vladimir Putin’s actions while simultaneously arguing that continued war is destroying Ukraine. That distinction is important. Advocacy for negotiations is not, by itself, evidence of allegiance to Russia.
The democratic test is therefore not whether Ukraine should defend itself against hostile information operations. It is whether sanctions and national-security powers are being applied with transparent evidence, due process and meaningful avenues of challenge when they target Ukrainian citizens expressing political dissent.
Does This Affect New Zealand?
Yes, because New Zealand is not a detached observer.
On 8 September 2026, the New Zealand Government renewed the deployment of up to 70 NZDF personnel in Europe supporting Ukraine, primarily through training Ukrainian forces in Poland, intelligence, liaison and logistics. Operation Tīeke has been extended until 30 June 2028. New Zealand has also provided humanitarian and reconstruction assistance and continues to expand sanctions intended to constrain Russia’s ability to finance the war.
That policy is based on New Zealand’s stated position that Russia’s invasion violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and international law. Nothing in Mendel’s interview changes the fact that Russia launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
But her testimony raises a separate question relevant to New Zealand taxpayers and policymakers: what standards of democratic accountability, financial transparency and civil liberties should New Zealand expect from a government it is materially supporting?
Support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and scrutiny of Ukraine’s wartime government are not mutually exclusive. New Zealand can condemn Russia’s invasion while still asking how aid is spent, how dissent is treated, whether sanctions against Ukrainian citizens receive due process, and whether diplomatic options are being seriously examined as Ukrainian public opinion shifts towards negotiation.
For New Zealand, the significance of Mendel’s interview is therefore not that every allegation should be accepted. It is that continued military, diplomatic and financial involvement creates a corresponding responsibility to distinguish verified evidence from wartime narratives on all sides.
Independent reporting. Original context. Credited sources.
Sources
- Tucker Carlson, Zelensky’s Press Secretary Returns From Exile With a Message for the Tyrant, 26 September 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8sYWO65Sk
- Office of the President of Ukraine, sanctions announcement and decrees, 13 September 2026: https://president.gov.ua/news/ukrayina-zaprovadila-sankciyi-proti-20-suden-rosijskogo-tino-106377
- Reuters, Ukraine's Zelenskiy imposes sanctions on former press secretary, 13 September 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraines-zelenskiy-imposes-sanctions-former-press-secretary-2026-09-13/
- Interfax-Ukraine, Mendel statement on European Parliament entry, 16 September 2026: https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1205558.html
- Gallup, Ukrainians Sour on U.S. Leadership, 2026: https://news.gallup.com/poll/711992/ukrainians-sour-washington-views-war-stabilize.aspx
- Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, working group on post-war elections, 5 May 2026: https://www.rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/top_news/272655.html
- New Zealand Government, New Zealand continues its support to Ukraine, 8 September 2026: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-continues-its-support-ukraine
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Russia sanctions: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/europe/ukraine/russian-invasion-of-ukraine/sanctions
Source Transcript
The supplied transcript of the Tucker Carlson interview was used as the primary interview record for this report.