- A former
Zelenskyy aide said the Trump-Ukraine scandal showed Ukraine was a diplomatic country. - Iuliia Mendel told Insider that Zelenskyy's refusal to meddle in US
politics revealed Ukraine to be "mature."
A former aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 2019 Donald Trump-Ukraine scandal showed the world that Ukraine is a "very good diplomat," despite the chaos the incident caused both at home and abroad.
Iuliia Mendel, a Ukrainian journalist who served as press secretary for Zelenskyy from June 2019 to July 2021, spoke to Insider this week about the ongoing Russian invasion and her experience working under the now-renowned wartime president.
"Ukraine, I think, showed itself as a very good diplomat in general," Mendel said. "Ukraine showed itself as, actually, a mature state by doing everything not to meddle."
While the conversation primarily centered on her time with Zelenskyy and the current war, Mendel offered some brief insight into the now-infamous phone call between presidents that launched
In a July 2019 phone call with Zelenskyy, then-President Trump urged the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rival, President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden.
The contents of the conversation came to light in August 2019 when an anonymous intelligence official blew the whistle on the phone call, expressing concern that Trump used his role as president to "solicit interference from a foreign country" in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
A senior official would later testify that Trump made clear to Zelenskyy that the release of millions of dollars of recently-blocked military aid for Ukraine was contingent upon an investigation into Biden. The accusations of interference led to Trump's first impeachment trial, of which he was ultimately acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.
The phone call came just three months after Zelenskyy — a former comedian — took office.
Despite his political inexperience, Zelenskyy's handling of the situation in which he stressed Ukraine's independence, showed the new president to be "diplomatic," Mendel told Insider.
She added that this time period was particularly hectic for her as she fielded calls "around the clock" as Zelesnkyy's primary spokesperson.
More details about the phone call and its aftermath are expected in Mendel's upcoming book, "The Fight of Our Lives," which is set to be released this fall.
Mendel commended Zelenskyy for showing perseverance and tenacity throughout his presidential tenure, which has included three years of ongoing challenges. Between the Trump scandal, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion, Mendel said Zelenskyy's presidency has been plagued by nonstop difficulties.
Luckily for Ukraine, Mendel said, Zelenskyy is persistent.
"He is the person who never gives up," she said. "When ... you don't have a way out, he will say 'let's start from the beginning.'"
But even as the
"It's not about him," she said. "It's about the challenge between authoritarian regimes and democracy."
"This is about the whole country," she added.