Iuliia Mendel
@IuliiaMendel • 172,563 subscribers
Ex-spokesperson for President Zelenskyy. Insider view. Writing a bold new exposé on the real story behind the scenes in Ukraine.
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Ukrainian men are fleeing the country through mountains and rivers — and posting videos of those routes across Ukrainian social media. Clips like this keep multiplying. In the comments they find something the official narrative rarely allows: solidarity. Not because anyone celebrates leaving a country at war, but because too many now experience Ukraine as a cage — where men are hunted, seized, and sent to die, while the public quietly admits what politicians still refuse to say out loud: this war cannot be won by feeding more lives into it. People want to live. That is not treason. That is the most basic human instinct. Human rights do not expire at the recruiting office. A state that treats its own men as expendable material loses the moral language it claims to fight for. We can mourn the dead, demand accountability from those who started this slaughter, and still insist on one simple thing: remain human first. Peace is not surrender. Peace is the right not to be forced into a grave for a war that no longer has an honest military end.
Iuliia Mendel42,703 просмотров • 21 часов назад
This can't be the price of winning... The only way for Ukraine to win is to save its population and give future. The only way to achieve it is to have compromises, smart diplomacy and finally peace. God, SAVE UKRAINE. First of all, from cynical ignorance of some in the West...
Iuliia Mendel60,298 просмотров • 10 дней назад
Over 35 years of independence, Ukraine has lost more than 50% of its population. PLEASE, HELP ME SHARE THIS. In 1991 we numbered 52 million; today there are barely 25 million. More than half are pensioners and people with disabilities. The working-age population is at most 10 million.Last year Ukraine lost nearly 800,000 people — due to high mortality and emigration abroad. Last year there were THREE times more deaths than births in Ukraine. This year — FOUR times more deaths than births. We are paying an unacceptably high price for the continuation of the war. We are paying with the lives of people who can never be brought back. If the war continues, will Ukraine have another 35 years? Only peace can save the Ukrainian nation.
Iuliia Mendel73,593 просмотров • 16 дней назад
Putin has radically reimagined the meaning of this parade. Once a commemoration of victory over fascism in World War II, it is no longer about the past. Today, it stands as a symbol of his vision for the future. Troops from China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and other nations — countries with little historical connection to WWII — now march in Moscow together. For Putin, the parade is no longer about remembrance. This is a display of unity among autocratic regimes, bound by rigid hierarchies and a shared defiance of modern democratic values. #Russia
Iuliia Mendel1,955,085 просмотров • 1 год назад
War propaganda in Ukraine makes people compromise with their conscience until they stop checking facts and start believing the picture they are sold. They are said: Stay quiet about corruption so Western aid isn’t threatened. They stay quiet because the aid is existential. Meanwhile the corruption grows, and more of that aid ends up in pockets of the unchangeable elites. They are said: Conscription brutality is “normal” because those men are dodging duty. So people look away from beatings, torture, mobilization of the disabled and the sick, men falling from windows. Then they hear that only a tiny share of the mobilized even reach the front. The rest pay everything they have to escape. While people stay silent someone in that system gets rich. When people stay silent long enough, speaking feels dangerous. They start believing the state should profit off grief they have to hide so more money keeps coming — and that dying for the state is the major goal, and the best hero is a dead one. This is what brainwashing means. Do you see it yet?
Iuliia Mendel35,915 просмотров • 9 дней назад
Ukrainians are turning into bloggers because their homes have become sets for horror films. They are no longer afraid to say how little the Ukrainian leadership’s actions have to do with reality. Another “harsh winter” is approaching, yet despite massive Western aid, all the government can offer is to tell people to flee. Where are the aid centers? Where is the financial support? Where is the protection of critical infrastructure? Where is the plan for how not to die this winter? There is nothing. Listen to this voice of reason and despair from Ukraine. The only way for Ukraine to survive and recover is to stop this war.
Iuliia Mendel38,531 просмотров • 11 дней назад
Ukraine has never been able to shoot down Russia’s gliding bombs that devastate frontline cities. Now, NATO contractors have developed new tech to counter KABs and Shahed drones — using interceptor and swarm drones powered by AI. Tested successfully in Ukraine, the system heads for final trials in France. If approved, it could receive coalition funding for production — a breakthrough that could finally protect civilians from attacks that once seemed unstoppable. #DefenseTech #StopRussia
Iuliia Mendel492,133 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад
Ukrainian special forces and police just pulled off an incredible rescue: six civilians were evacuated from the hellish frontline in Kupiansk, guided every step of the way by drone operators from above. Under constant threat, the group walked over 20 km on foot through dangerous territory — following light signals and directions from UAVs that lit the path and kept watch. Coordinated by the Special Purpose Police Regiment, air recon pilots, and the 425th Brigade soldiers, they reached safety where armored transport whisked them to Shevchenkove, met by volunteers. "Behind every kilometer: fear, exhaustion, and hope. Six saved lives made every step worth it."
Iuliia Mendel265,844 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
Approximately 4 million men of mobilization age remain in Ukraine. In Russia — about 40 million. This statistic is convenient to ignore for those who advocate continuing the war and preserving the status quo. None of them are fighting themselves. The Ukrainian authorities are now doing everything possible to send as many men as possible to the front. The police are checking the reservations of 2,500 conscripts. 6,500 decisions of military medical commissions have been canceled. The rules for deferments are being rewritten so strictly that some men have not left their homes for weeks. The authorities are also testing messages about mobilizing women. But will this change the numbers? Even if all the men and women aged 18–60 who still remain in the country were gathered, it would be a maximum of about 10 million. And that would still be national suicide. This policy is being advanced instead of an imperfect peace — a peace that has been proposed in various forms over recent years, but has never been accepted by Volodymyr Zelensky. The decision to forcibly throw everyone who can or cannot fight onto the front, despite Russia’s obvious numerical superiority, is presented as the only patriotic path. I appeal to your logic and humanity. You are witnessing the self-destruction of one of the largest nations in Europe — Ukraine. Do not support this policy.
Iuliia Mendel29,888 просмотров • 18 дней назад
From $20,000 to $50,000 — that is the fee some journalists and professors receive simply for one travel to Ukraine to cover events for their prestigious media outlets. In the past, this would have been called corruption. After all, none of these journalists or professors questions Zelenskyy’s propaganda, shows any interest in alternative viewpoints, or bothers to analyze the situation in any real depth. Some don’t even leave their five-star hotels in Kyiv. Yet today this is the official payment for “independent” and “objective” reporting from a highly dangerous combat zone — all in the name of supporting Ukrainian democracy during this critically important existential period. If you’re a Western journalist still doing all of this for free, think carefully. Maybe you should start demanding extra compensation for your work as well. And this is Zaporizhzhia after yet anotehr Russian aerial guided bombs. Just to remind you the price Ukrainians pay
Iuliia Mendel60,723 просмотров • 1 месяц назад
⚡️⚡️⚡️I am accused of being “pro-Russian” the moment I state basic facts about the war or express disagreement with Zelenskyy's policies of endless escalation. Often it’s bots, but sometimes also people from the comfortable West who genuinely believe they understand Ukraine and this war better than I do — someone who has covered the conflict since the very beginning in 2014, visited Donbas multiple times alongside Zelenskyy, participated in negotiations, helped craft communications for the President, and remained in the country when the full-scale invasion began in 2022. I was shelled, narrowly survived, traveled across the country helping civilians in need, and reported intensively as a journalist. Yet now some dare to label me pro-Russian simply because I refuse to support the primitive populism that allows Zelenskyy to prolong the war, profit from it, and cling to power. So let me be perfectly clear: Everyone who hurls this accusation is acting against my country. Everyone who buys into Zelenskyy’s illogical drama, who is willing to fight Russia with Ukrainian blood while ignoring the suffering of ordinary people — you are acting against Ukraine. By shamelessly supporting Zelenskyy’s policies, you are defending the current status quo and this means: Ukraine reduced to a permanently bleeding nation where people merely survive under constant Russian shelling and Kyiv’s increasingly authoritarian rule; Massive human rights violations, with men hunted on the streets, forcibly conscripted, beaten, tortured, and sometimes killed in recruitment centers; Rampant corruption — almost every close partner, friend, or high-ranking official around Zelenskyy has faced accusations of money laundering or other graft, while companies run by his inner circle receive billions in Western tax money; Putin started this war, but Zelenskyy figured out how to profit on it greatly; Crushing poverty, including average pensions of just $180 per month; A catastrophic demographic crisis — last year, three times more Ukrainians died than were born; Educational collapse, with at least one-third of Ukrainian children receiving no proper schooling and many fourth-graders unable to read; Brain drain, mass emigration, societal depression, and generational trauma that will take decades to heal. Some people are so eager to see Russia burn and so enchanted by Zelenskyy’s primitive role-playing that they choose to remain blind to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine. To me, that makes you anti-Ukrainian. If you truly want to fight Russia, go to the frontlines. Stop censoring Ukrainians who call for peace. Sitting comfortably in the West and attacking those who demand an end to the slaughter does not make you a hero — it makes you miserable and hypocritical. Remember this the next time your fingers itch to type another offensive comment.
Iuliia Mendel80,275 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
Seven billion dollars could have flowed into a Ukrainian drone company backed by friends of Volodymyr Zelensky. Of that amount, 20 percent—nearly one and a half billion dollars—was reportedly set to be pure profit for the insiders: Zelensky’s inner circle and the ministers he personally appointed. This is the very same company that Zelensky himself has been hawking nonstop—personally flying it around to foreign investors as Ukraine’s great success story. The details come from secret audio recordings made by Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau and leaked to an independent investigative journalist. Right now in Ukraine, politicians are openly talking about impeaching Zelensky. Tomorrow, a sitting member of parliament is going to read even more of these recordings publicly. I’m told some of the voices captured may include the First Lady herself. Other tapes casually refer to “Vova”—Zelensky’s nickname—as both a participant in the deal and the owner of one of four massive luxury mansions being built in Ukraine’s richest suburb outside Kyiv, each worth millions. Here’s the kicker: Out of 90 billion euros the European Union is lending to Ukraine, the first tranche is earmarked for “drone production.” They call it “defending the country.” Guess which company is first in line to get the money? On the recordings, a former Defense Minister is heard openly discussing how to steer a billion dollars from Western partners straight into the company of Zelensky’s friends. But let’s be honest: this isn’t really about defense. Drones aren’t just shields—they’re weapons. This is about offense. This is about keeping the war going. While ordinary Ukrainians continue to die under shelling, flee a collapsing economy, and watch our country disintegrate, the president’s inner circle is getting filthy rich. This bloody war is now entering its fifth year. And the people closest to Zelensky are profiting handsomely from it. Ukrainian activists, members of parliament, and independent media have been screaming this out loud. The only ones who refuse to report it? Western mainstream media. Instead of any serious scrutiny of corruption, you get glowing tributes to Ukraine’s “drone sector,” endless praise for “democracy’s great leader Zelensky,” and stories about exporting surplus weapons. So I’m asking my former colleagues in the media directly: Is this what journalism is now? Covering up massive corruption at the highest levels? Is this what “standing with the people” looks like? My country is dying. My people are dying—so that one man and his friends can get obscenely wealthy. If you’re in Ukraine, you already know there is nothing democratic about Zelensky’s government. This war is the only thing keeping him in power and money. The moment peace comes, it all evaporates. This isn’t about one man playing Winston Churchill. This is about the destruction of an entire nation. You may not be able to publish this by quoting your Ukrainian colleagues yet. But tomorrow, when a member of parliament—the highest elected office in the country—publicly reads these records, there will be no more excuses. The gap between what Western media tells you and what is actually happening in Ukraine has grown too wide. It’s time to close it.
Iuliia Mendel150,299 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
Two major Epicenter stores burning right now in the Odesa region after a Russian strike. Everyday Ukrainians lose their jobs, their supplies, their normal life — again. This is the predictable result of the escalations Zelenskyy keeps choosing. Every new round of provocation and “victory” rhetoric just brings more destruction to the people who actually have to live there. It’s a cruel politics that treats Ukraine as a battlefield for someone else’s agenda and leaves the country with no future. The ordinary people pay. Always.
Iuliia Mendel22,432 просмотров • 15 дней назад
In Ukraine, there are two camps. One stands for peace, the other for war. And it’s time we spoke about this openly. I believe the latter are fewer in number, yet far louder than anyone else. Of course — behind them stand enormous funds for propaganda and a license for impunity. They have thousands of talking heads, useful idiots, and people paralyzed by despair. They are ready to intimidate, harass, unleash bots, turn half the nation into “enemies of the people,” lecture and moralize, and teach you that your sons must die for the state. They insist that if you want the war to end, there’s something wrong with you — you’re naïve, stupid, or even insane. They claim there is no corruption, that all Ukrainians must remain poor, and that the conscription officers — which hunt men like animals and are notorious for torture and human rights abuses — are mere “Russian propaganda.” They say peace is impossible solely because of Putin, that the best hero is a dead hero, and that everyone shown on television is telling the truth. And then there’s the eternal message: “Just endure a little longer.” A few more months and we’ll win. Another six months and Russia will run out of resources. One more year and the war will be over. Every autocracy has had its propaganda. And every one operated on the same principle: silence, destroy, and hound the critics — while filling the media with the “right” people and the “right” messages. This summer, the last attempt this year to end the war will be made. It will be presented as American pressure, a betrayal of the Ukrainian people, especially Zelenskyy, or collaboration with Russia. They notice only the negative, and only when it’s time to shift blame onto someone else. As you may have noticed, according to Zelenskyy, everyone is guilty. Biden is guilty for talking about war and sowing panic. The West is guilty for not giving weapons on time. Trump is guilty for negotiating with Putin and trying to bring everyone to the table. Ukrainian men are guilty for not wanting to go to the front. Refugees are guilty for leaving and thus not being patriots. Critics are guilty because Ukraine is losing because of them. Deputy ministers, ministers, and long-time partners are guilty as they were caught in corruption. The only ones who are never guilty… are two specific people. I won’t name them. So this time, once again, everyone will be blamed. Zelenskyy will face a choice: either drag the war out further, or once again play the role of the unfortunate victim who, under pressure, is forced to do the unforgivable. We are offered various options to end the war, but our leadership rejects them all. The price of continuing the war is always the same — more rivers of Ukrainian blood, another horrific winter without electricity or heating, and hundreds of thousands more refugees. If this summer there is no peace agreement — any agreement at all — even a shaky ceasefire or a halt to large-scale shelling, the war will drag on at least until March. Because the United States, the only viable mediator and influential player, will be preoccupied with mid-term elections, then winter holidays, and then there will be the fifth anniversary of the war… Once again, we will be told to “endure a little longer,” and once again we will be fed stories about how Russia is about to collapse any day now. The people writing these messages are not stupid. They simply believe that we — all of us — are.
Iuliia Mendel102,855 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад
The Russian army conducts “drone safaris” against the most defenseless — those who lack the health or money to escape the frontline. I would like to ask Vladimir Putin directly: Is this your “fight against NATO”? At the same time, Ukraine’s leadership is deriving enormous benefits from this war and shows no real interest in ending it. The only true victims of this horrific and senseless war are the Ukrainian people. Thank you Tucker Carlson
Iuliia Mendel110,747 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
What you see every day on European television is a carefully edited story: Ukraine is “winning,” the West is “united,” and everything is under control. I wish that were true. The reality inside my country is very different. Entire cities and towns have been reduced to rubble. Hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainian men have been killed or maimed. Families are exhausted, the economy is in ruins, and the next winter can again come with blackouts and empty shelves. People are not “resilient heroes” in some Hollywood script — they are simply desperate. Many no longer believe the war will end on the terms we were promised two years ago. And yet, when you listen to Brussels or read the big European newspapers, you hear only applause for the status quo. More sanctions. More weapons. More “strategic patience.” They call it solidarity. One has to ask — with all due respect — is it really solidarity, or is it something more cynical? European leaders talk about “defending democracy” while quietly admitting in private that they have no plan for victory and no real intention of paying the full price themselves. Their media shows endless images of Ukrainian suffering but almost never asks the uncomfortable question: how many more lives must be lost before someone in the EU admits that the current strategy is not working? This is not just hypocritical. It is dangerous. By keeping the conflict frozen in this half-supported, half-abandoned state, we are not only destroying Ukraine — we are exhausting Europe’s own economies, pushing global food and energy prices higher, and steadily raising the risk that one miscalculation turns a regional war into something far wider. The status quo is not neutral. It is a slow-motion catastrophe dressed up as moral virtue. I am not asking for surrender. I am asking for honesty. Europeans deserve to know the real price being paid. Ukrainians deserve leaders who tell them the truth instead of yesterday’s slogans. And the world deserves a conversation that is no longer filtered through political correctness.
Iuliia Mendel125,247 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад