Julia Mendel, the former spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has made strong statements against her former boss during an interview on American journalist Tucker Carlson's podcast.
Mendel, who said she worked for Zelensky from 2019 to 2021 and supported him even after the Russian invasion began in 2022, said the Ukrainian president is completely different from the image he presents publicly.
"First of all, he's not the person you see on camera. He's a completely different person. He changes masks all the time. He's emotionally uncontrollable," she said during the interview.
According to Mendel, Zelensky "is often hysterical," does not control his emotions, and lacks the empathy he publicly displays.
"He is an extremely talented actor. On camera he plays the role of a gentle bear, but when the lights go out, he is a wild bear and destroys people," the former spokeswoman declared.
She also said that the West has created a "myth" around Zelensky and that many people continue to believe that support for the Ukrainian president is the same as support for Ukraine.
Mendel tried to emphasize that he was not justifying the Russian invasion or Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian aggression a "crime against humanity," but added that the war "is no longer black and white."
"We see Putin as evil, but Zelensky is also evil. It's just a hidden evil," she said.
In the strongest part of the interview, the former spokeswoman also made accusations of corruption and money laundering in the Ukrainian administration.
She claimed that Zelensky "stands behind many money laundering schemes" and recounted an episode where, according to her, a candidate for a position at the Ministry of Social Policy was asked during an interview about "money laundering schemes" that could be financed through the ministry.
Mendel's statements have begun to circulate widely on social networks and online media, causing strong debate due to the role she has had with the Ukrainian president.
