"Peace cannot be pro-Russian." But consistent supporters of Moscow will be the ones talking about it in the European Parliament
On September 14, MEPs return to work after the summer break. The first plenary session begins in Strasbourg. And on September 16, an event dedicated to “peace” in Ukraine will be held in one of the buildings of the European Parliament — Salvador de Madariaga.
The official announcement of AfD calls Julia Mendel the central speaker of the evening. They emphasize that she was the press secretary of the President of Ukraine and will speak about the war and the possibilities of ending it, drawing on personal experience.
Poster for the event with the participation of Julia Mendel at the European Parliament on September 16.
Hans Neuhoff / Facebook
The status of "former Zelenskyʼs spokeswoman" was apparently an argument for inviting Mendel to Strasbourg.
This way, the party can present the event not only as its own discussion about the war, but also as a conversation with the participation of a person who previously spoke on behalf of the president of Ukraine.
Mendel also reported her speech in X: “Peace cannot be pro-Russian. Instead, it must save Ukraine as a state and give it hope for the future,” she writes.
That is why Mendel is grateful for the opportunity to speak in the European Parliament. She especially thanks three people — the co-chair of the German Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel, its co-chair Tino Hrupalli, and MEP Hans Neuhoff.
Alice Weidel, Ulrich Sigmund and Tino Hrupalla celebrate the first results of the "Saxony-Anhalt" state election, which put the AfD in first place. Magdeburg, Germany, September 6, 2026. Pictured from left to right: Hans Neuhoff, Björn Höcke, leader of the AfD faction in the Thuringian parliament, and Tino Hrupalla, co-chair of the AfD and leader of the partyʼs parliamentary faction in the Bundestag, during the AfD event "The Nation State between Federalism and the European Union." Rottweil, Germany, June 29, 2023.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Yulia Mendelʼs path: from Zelenskyʼs team to criticism of the president
Yulia Mendel headed the press service of President Zelensky from 2019 to 2021. After that, she wrote two books about Zelensky — both favorable to the president.
In early 2025, the tone of her public statements changed. She wrote that Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire, and that the desire to return territories and join NATO was leading the country to “lose its nation” in other respects.
In May 2026, she gave an interview to Tucker Carlson. The main topic was criticism of Zelensky. In particular, Mendel stated that during the Normandy summit in 2019, Zelensky promised Putin that Ukraine would not join NATO. She also claimed that during the negotiations in Istanbul in the spring of 2022, the Ukrainian side was ready to hand over Donbas to Russia. (The Foreign Ministry denied her words.)
The program includes four participants. Mendel will deliver the keynote speech. Roger Keppel, publisher and editor-in-chief of the right-wing conservative Swiss magazine Weltwoche, a former MP from the right-wing populist Swiss Peopleʼs Party, will join the discussion. On the day of the full-scale invasion, he wrote that Putinʼs attack on Ukraine was supposedly not a conquest, but "deterrence".
And in August 2026, Keppel published a major interview with Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. The AfD co-chair Tino Hrupalla will deliver the welcoming speech. He also consistently advocates rapprochement with Moscow. In November 2025, he stated that he did not see a threat to Germany from Russia.
And the organizer of the event — Hans Neuhoff — will moderate the meeting.
Roger Keppel - publisher and editor-in-chief of the right-wing Swiss magazine Weltwoche - visited Moscow. In addition to propagandist Solovyov, he also met with the Russian Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, April 2023. Roger Keppel with Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
The poster, under the portraits of the speakers, features the logo of the far-right parliamentary group Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN). All 15 AfD MEPs belong to it, making up the majority in the group.
MEP Hans Neuhoff called on Kyiv to surrender, called Russia a "defensive empire" and traveled to Sochi
Hans Neuhoff, 67, is a German cultural sociologist, musicologist, and politician. He joined the Alternative for Germany party in 2017 and became a Member of the European Parliament in 2024.
In Brussels and Strasbourg, Neuhoff is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), the Security and Defence Committee (SEDE), the delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee (D-UA), and the delegation for relations with China.
His public statements on Russia and Ukraine contradict the position of the majority of the European Parliament, which condemns Russian aggression and supports Ukraine.
Back during the 2024 election campaign, speaking at a panel discussion, Neuhoff declared that Russia posed no threat “as long as Putin is alive”. He later wrote that “Russia’s war with Ukraine is a defensive act against NATO, which has crept up to its eastern border”.
And during a speech in the European Parliament, Neuhoff called the possibility that Ukraine would be able to “reclaim the territories occupied by Russia” an “illusion”. In his speeches, he also repeatedly referred to Ukraine as “Zelenskyʼs regime”.
In November 2025, Neuhoff, along with two other AfD MPs, traveled to Sochi for the BRICS-Europe conference. The event was organized by Viktor Medvedchuk, and the keynote speech at the conference was delivered by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.
Neuhoff said about the upcoming trip that he plans to speak at a symposium dedicated to relations between the countries of the European Union and the BRICS states.
“The politicians of the conservative bloc who believe that we should ignore the BRICS do not understand anything about geopolitics. They are leading Germany and Europe towards isolation, not towards a prosperous future,” Neuhoff said.
Hans Neuhoff during his visit to Sochi for the BRICS-Europe conference, November 18, 2025.
Hans Neuhoff / Facebook
In December of the same year, the European Parliamentʼs Committee on Security and Defense planned an official visit of a delegation to Kyiv. The Ukrainian side reported in advance that it could not approve Neuhoffʼs participation in the trip, for security reasons. Neuhoff refused to voluntarily withdraw from the delegation.
As a result, the planned visit to Kyiv was canceled.
Mendelʼs speech is not an official European Parliament event. But the location matters
An official of the European Parliament explained to Babel on condition of anonymity that such meetings are not part of the official work of the parliament. Members of Parliament and political groups can organize their own events in the parliamentary premises — if they follow the established rules.
The European Parliament does not approve their content, it is only responsible for the organization: the hall, security, translation and technical support. Who to invite and what the speakers will talk about are decided by the organizers.
The poster does not have the logo of the European Parliament itself or the AfD. Instead, there is the emblem of the “Europe of Sovereign Nations” (ESN) — a far-right parliamentary group. But the venue has political and media significance.
Already in the title of its announcement, the AfD writes that Mendel “will speak in the European Parliament”. Mendel herself formulates it in the same way. Formally, it is about a speech in a building and could create the false impression that it is about an official rostrum.
And although on September 16, Mendel will not be speaking on behalf of the European Parliament, her former position, the participation of the AfD leadership, and the parliamentary location give the organizers exactly the picture they are looking for — the former spokeswoman of the President of Ukraine is talking about "peace" within the walls of one of the main European institutions, next to politicians who have been promoting theses favorable to Russia for years.