30 April 2021, Friday, 20:16 706

Mendel To Leave Post Of Zelenskyy Spokesperson After Selection Of New Candidate, Will Remain In Presidential Office To Interact With Foreign Media

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s press secretary Yulia Mendel will leave the position after a new candidate for the position is selected, but she will remain in the Office of the President of Ukraine to interact with foreign media.

Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine’s head Andrii Yermak, confirmed this to the Ukrainian News Agency.

“Yulia Mendel will serve as the President's press secretary. Subsequently, the functions of the press secretary will be clarified and the necessary candidate will be selected for these functions," he said, commenting on media reports that Mendel has written a letter of resignation.

According to him, it is normal practice to clarify functions and constantly strengthen a team.

The position of presidential press secretary will be transformed into a separate position, its functions will be clarified, and the position will be filled, Podoliak said.

He did not specify how candidates for the position would be selected.

At the same time, Podoliak said that Mendel would remain part of the communication team in the Office of the President of Ukraine.

"Yulia Mendel is an effective coordinator of many important areas in the Office of the President. Therefore, she will definitely continue to work in the communication team of the Office of the President, but she will be responsible for a slightly different area, namely, interaction with foreign media," he said.

According to him, this is an extremely important area that requires concentration and active moderation.

In particular, according to him, Mendel could become an advisor on international communications.
"Today, the communication of the president's initiatives to external consumers needs significant strengthening. Yulia Volodymyrivna has excellent connections in this sector of the media community and she can be effective as an advisor on international communications," Podoliak said.

Mendel herself is not responding to calls from Ukrainian News Agency and not commenting on the reports.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Mendel was appointed as Zelenskyy’s press secretary on June 3, 2019, based on the results of a competition, for which about 3,000 candidates submitted their CVs.

Before that, she worked at the World Bank’s office in Ukraine and worked as a journalist.

In particular, she worked for the ICTV, Inter, and Espresso-TV television channels and wrote for the Ukrainian edition of the Forbes magazine, The New York Times, and the Politico publication.

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