Former Ukrainian presidential spokeswoman Yuliia Mendel has claimed that President Volodymyr Zelensky was prepared to hand over the Donbas to Russia during peace negotiations in 2022 – allegations the Presidential Office swiftly dismissed as baseless and detached from reality.
Mendel made the remarks in an interview with controversial US commentator Tucker Carlson, a frequent critic of Ukraine and Western military aid who has repeatedly amplified Kremlin narratives.
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According to Mendel, members of Ukraine’s delegation at the Istanbul talks in spring 2022 allegedly agreed to nearly all Russian demands in an effort to stop the war.
“I spoke with people who represented Ukraine at the Istanbul negotiations in 2022,” Mendel said. “And they explained to me in detail that they agreed to everything. Moreover – and this is very important – they said that Zelensky personally agreed to give up Donbas.”
Mendel offered no evidence to support the claims and did not identify any of the alleged sources she referenced.
