Former Zelenskyy Spokesperson Mendel to Newsmax: 'This Is the Second Holocaust'

Lullia Mendel, former spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Newsmax Wednesday that Ukrainians "are sure that we will win this war."

"A survey just the other day shows that 93% of Ukrainians believe that we will win this war, but we are also sure that Russia will have another offensive," Mendel said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Eric Bolling: The Balance." "We're afraid that this will be a very huge mass murder."

Mendel said that it's "a horror, what they've done to the Ukrainians," adding that the world is now watching "the genocide of the Ukrainian people."

"This is the second Holocaust, if you want, because Russians have done everything the worst that was done in both armies – Nazi and Soviet armies – back in World War II," she said.

A high-ranking Ukrainian official told The Washington Post the entire Kyiv region was no longer under Russian control Saturday, as signs grew that Moscow's forces were pulling back from cities and towns across the capital region.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Russia's withdrawal in the north was "slow but noticeable."

"The only reason why Russians are leaving right now – the Kyiv region – is that our army, our volunteers, and our people showed that they just cannot defeat us, that they cannot take the city," Mendel said.

Responding to Russian claims that the images from the massacre at Bucha were staged Ukrainian propaganda, Mendel said that the Russians are the propaganda masters.

"If we're talking about propaganda, then Russians are actually gold champions at propaganda," she said. "And, actually, Russians are those who, through their propaganda, tell the world what they're going to say."

The Pentagon said Wednesday that its assessment is that Ukraine could win the war against Russia, even as U.S. officials speak of the risk of a drawn-out conflict.

"Of course, they can win this," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. "The proof is literally in the outcomes that you're seeing everyday ... absolutely they can win."

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