Yuliia Mendel, the former press secretary for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has sparked controversy by claiming in an interview with American media personality Tucker Carlson that Ukraine was allegedly ready to cede the Donbas region during the 2022 Istanbul peace talks. Mendel asserted that President Zelenskyy had personally agreed to these terms, a claim that has been weaponized by Russian propaganda to undermine Ukraine’s diplomatic standing.
The Office of the President of Ukraine acted swiftly to debunk these allegations. Presidential advisor Serhiy Lytvyn, as reported by Liga.net, dismissed the statements as baseless. He emphasized that Mendel was never involved in the negotiations or the decision-making process at any level, describing her comments as an unserious distortion of reality.
Security analysts at Factage Ukraine view this episode as a calculated information operation. By spreading these narratives to Western audiences, the intent is to foster distrust and suggest that Kyiv’s commitment to its territorial integrity is negotiable. However, the reality remains unchanged: Ukraine’s strategic objective is the full restoration of its internationally recognized borders.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, characterized Mendel’s assertions as pure conspiracy theory. He reiterated that Ukraine has been fighting for its territory since 2014 and that surrendering sovereign land has never been a policy stance of the Zelenskyy administration. These types of inflammatory statements only serve to confuse the international community and distract from the actual existential challenges Ukraine faces on the battlefield.
The timing of these claims is particularly problematic, as Ukraine continues to lobby its allies for essential security guarantees and advanced defensive equipment. By fabricating narratives about past concessions, external actors hope to soften support for Ukraine’s current resistance. Ultimately, Kyiv’s position remains resolute: the fight for sovereignty is not just for the Donbas, but for the fundamental principle of international law and European security.