Zelensky's ex-spokeswoman Yulia Mendel charged with high treason in Ukraine

Ukrainian prosecutors have formally accused Yulia Mendel, once the voice of Volodymyr Zelensky's presidential press office, of high treason. The 40-year-old served as his press secretary from his 2019 election until 2021, several months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion. She now lives outside the country and has become one of Zelensky's loudest critics.

In a statement posted to Telegram on Nov 3, the public prosecutor's office said investigators had gathered enough evidence to suspect Mendel of high treason and of justifying Russia's armed aggression. They claim she leaned on her public profile to push statements favourable to the aggressor state, with the goal of discrediting Ukraine. Her remarks, prosecutors argue, echo narratives that benefit Russia by spreading disillusionment and demoralising Ukrainian society.

Officials singled out her public claims that free speech doesn't exist in Ukraine and that the country is on a path towards extinction. Mendel hasn't backed down. In her own Telegram post, she rejected the accusations and said they actually prove that she is right. Zelensky has already hit her with sanctions.

Her break with Kyiv has been building for years. Mendel accuses her former boss of corruption and a drift towards authoritarianism, and she has argued that Ukraine must reach a swift agreement with Russia if it wants to survive as a state, even as she criticises the Kremlin's campaign. Earlier this year she told right-wing US talk show host Tucker Carlson that Zelensky was one of the biggest obstacles towards peace.

The case lands as a striking turn for a one-time insider turned fierce opponent, and it puts a fresh spotlight on how Kyiv is treating dissent from former officials abroad. Prosecutors say the evidence is sufficient for the suspicion; no trial outcome has been announced.