Zelenskyy sanctions ex-press secretary Mendel over disinformation claims

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed 10-year sanctions on his former press secretary, Yuliia Mendel, accusing her and nine other Ukrainian and Russian individuals of spreading disinformation and Russian propaganda and supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The measures include asset freezes, restrictions on trade and capital transfers, and other economic and travel-related limits. Mendel, who served as Zelenskyy’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, called the sanctions unconstitutional and said they reflected an effort to punish people advocating peace; she denied no specific allegations in her response. The action follows Mendel’s public criticism of Zelenskyy and recent interviews in which she made unsubstantiated claims about Ukrainian officials and the government’s conduct during peace negotiations. The sanctions were part of broader decrees targeting Russia’s shadow-fleet vessels, defense-industry companies and individuals linked to Russian military production.