Zelenskyy's former press secretary says international attention on Ukraine has 'stayed strong' and is 'even getting stronger'

• A former aide to Zelenskyy said the world's concern for Ukraine remains strong amid Russia's war.
• Iuliia Mendel told Insider that Russia poses a stark danger to the entire world.

Even after more than two months of warfare, the world's concern for Ukraine is not waning, but "getting stronger," according to a Ukrainian journalist and former press secretary to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Iuliia Mendel, who served as Zelenskyy's primary spokesperson from 2019 to 2021, told Insider this week that the international community's support for Ukraine and its people has only increased in the weeks since Russian forces invaded the country in late February.

Mendel said she understands that there could be global "fatigue" after weeks of heartbreaking stories and horrifying images out of the besieged country, but stressed that Russia's invasion has implications far beyond Ukraine — a reality of which she believes the world has grown acutely aware.

"The horrors we have seen here are nothing about just one country. They actually go against everything that means freedom, or democracy, or life," she said. "Russians show that they do not care about any rule that the world has established to live together."

Mendel cited recent comments by Russian propagandists threatening nuclear war in Western countries as evidence of the stark danger Russia poses to the entire world.

"We understand that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has definitely no connection to reality. Logic is not the thing he is operating with," she said. "If he's desperate, who knows what will happen."

As the fighting wages on, Mendel said there are still a slew of steps the international community can, and should, take to show ongoing support for Ukraine, including wide-scale oil and gas embargoes against Russia, as well as banning all of the country's financial institutions from the SWIFT system, an international payment system used by thousands of banks across the globe.

While many countries have already issued sanctions against Russia's energy sector, other nations, including India and China are continuing to buy product from the country. Even some Western countries are maintaining trade relations with Russia as they work to temper their reliance on the country's gas. Russia has the world's largest natural gas reserves and accounts for nearly 12% of global oil production, making a total freeze on buying Russian energy exports difficult for some particularly-reliant countries.

Meanwhile, Western allies have barred some select Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system. But Mendel stressed that punitive measures against just seven Russian financial institutions is "nothing" compared to the country's more than 300 banks.

Still, Mendel expressed gratitude for ongoing military assistance from Western allies, as well as the work of international journalists in Ukraine who have been covering the war.

"This is very much appreciated," said Mendel, who has also been reporting on the invasion for The Washington Post. "We are not afraid that they cover anything or reveal anything because they are working for the truth."

"Every story they tell matters," she said.