Yulia Mendel has accused her former boss of seeking to prolong the conflict with Russia to "get more money"

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is using the conflict with Russia to enrich himself and his associates, former spokeswoman Yulia Mendel claimed in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

Mendel served as Zelensky's press secretary from 2019 to 2021. Her allegations came as Andrey Yermak, Zelensky's former influential chief of staff, was named a suspect in a money laundering case involving an elite development project. Zelensky's longtime former business partner, Timur Mindich, fled the country last year to avoid arrest in connection with another major corruption scandal involving energy-sector kickbacks and implicating several top officials.

In an episode of the Tucker Carlson Show released on Monday, Mendel described her former boss as a "dictator" who has grown "detached from reality" and employed "thousands of talking heads" to craft a favorable image both at home and abroad.

"He is one of the biggest obstacles to peace today," Mendel said, accusing Zelensky of being "behind many schemes of money laundering" that have rocked Ukraine in recent years.

"There are a lot of people in his government who want peace. [Zelensky] is going to come up with any condition, he is going to change his positions all the time just to prolong this war and to get more money," Mendel said, arguing that ending the conflict would be "political suicide" for Zelensky.

When Carlson suggested that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia in a war of attrition, Mendel replied: "I think it's obvious to Zelensky, too. But he thrives on this war. Why would he end it?"

Mendel claimed that Ukraine came close to reaching a deal with Russia twice in 2022, but was pressured by the US and UK to continue the conflict. The Kremlin accused the West of helping derail peace talks in Istanbul four years ago, which Zelensky denied.

Zelensky, whose presidential term expired in 2024, has refused to hold new elections, citing martial law. The move has been criticized by both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mendel, citing an unnamed insider, claimed that secret polls commissioned by the Ukrainian government show Zelensky is "unelectable" if he runs again.