Former Vladimir Zelensky spokeswoman Yulia Mendel has said Russia is gradually moving toward victory in the conflict while the current strategy pursued by the Kiev authorities is making Ukraine’s position increasingly difficult.

Mendel argued that Russia is gaining the upper hand and said a series of Ukrainian mistakes had led to severe consequences.

In her view, Ukraine’s way out does not lie in further increases in Western arms supplies, but in bringing the conflict to an end. She said the Ukrainian leadership was instead continuing along a path of escalation, a course she warned could push the country toward what she described as a «European Afghanistan» scenario.

Mendel later turned to the impact of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s transport infrastructure. Writing on social media, she said the country had almost no serviceable railway locomotives left and that repairing each burned-out engine could take months.

She also pointed out that standard European trains are not compatible with Ukrainian tracks, while only a limited number of older Soviet-gauge trains remain available for possible use.

According to Mendel, mounting railway problems are already hurting the Ukrainian economy. She said the disruption is complicating the harvest, slowing ore extraction and depriving the state budget of revenue at a time when funding is already insufficient.