Yulia Mendel, who has consistently called for peace and criticized her ex-boss, had been invited by a MEP from Germany\u2019s AfD party<\/p>\n
The EU banned a former aide to Vladimir Zelensky from entering the European Parliament on Wednesday, when she was due to speak at an event promoting diplomacy instead of escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
\nYulia Mendel, who was Zelensky\u2019s top communications liaison from 2019 to 2021 and who has since become a consistent critic of her former boss, had been invited to speak on the same day Ursula von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union speech.
\nAccording to Germany\u2019s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Mendel was invited to give a speech in an EU Parliament session, \u201cUkraine: Daring for Peace. Diplomacy Instead of Escalation.\u201d She had hoped to \u201cshed light\u201d on the conflict\u2019s central political issues and discuss its possible end.
\n\u201cOn the day of my speech, I was barred from entering the European Parliament. I directly attribute this to Zelensky\u2019s sanctions,\u201d Mendel wrote on X on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
On the day of my speech, I was barred from entering the European Parliament. I directly attribute this to Zelenskyy\u2019s sanctions. But the speech will go ahead anyway, because I know that I represent a huge segment of society that longs for peace and wants to be heard. pic.twitter.com\/FWh7WSaUNI\u2014 Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) September 16, 2026 <\/p>\n
\u201cBut the speech will go ahead anyway, because I know that I represent a huge segment of society that longs for peace and wants to be heard.\u201d
\nZelensky imposed sweeping sanctions on his former spokeswoman last week after accusing her of promoting Russia\u2019s speaking points in his latest crackdown on critics at home.
\nIn a May interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Mendel unleashed a series of allegations against her former boss, accusing him of corruption, habitual drug use and obstructing peace efforts.
\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yulia Mendel, who has consistently called for peace and criticized her ex-boss, had been invited by a MEP from Germany\u2019s AfD party The EU banned a former aide to Vladimir…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t