European Commission fires interpreter who took notes at meeting with Zelensky despite ban

The European Commission has fired a translator with dual French and Ukrainian citizenship who took notes at a closed meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in late 2024 despite a ban. The investigation should determine whether she did so for the purpose of espionage. This was reported by the French newspaper Le Monde .

The incident took place on December 19, 2024, during a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, which was attended by Zelenskyy.

According to Le Monde, at the meeting, the Europeans intended to develop a common position before Donald Trump re-enters the White House. At that meeting, EU leaders promised to provide Ukraine with at least €30 billion in financial assistance in 2025, which was to be used to purchase weapons and protect energy infrastructure.

The meeting was held behind closed doors, with only the heads of state present, and interpreters were strictly forbidden to take any written notes.

However, during the discussions, the Czech translators noticed their colleague in charge of the Ukrainian translation transcribing the content of the ongoing discussions.

The security service was immediately informed about this, and its officers broke into the booth and interrupted the interpreter. The security officers confiscated all her equipment and forced her to leave the room. On the same day, an investigation was launched, her accreditation was revoked, and she was banned from entering the European Commission premises.

The media reports that the woman and her sister, who is also a translator, were born in Ukraine to a Russian family, lived in Ukraine; one of them was born in Russia. They have worked continuously for about 20 years as freelancers for NATO, the European Commission, and the French Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The woman was educated at the Institute of Translators, Interpreters and International Relations in Strasbourg, after receiving diplomas in English, foreign literature and psychology in Kyiv in 2002. In an interview with Le Monde, the European Commission confirmed these facts.

"The incident of note-taking, which is prohibited by our code of conduct, did occur during a meeting on December 19, 2024. Translation into Ukrainian was required at this meeting due to the participation of President Zelensky. The notes were confiscated," the European Commission explained .

After careful consideration of the facts, it was decided not to use the services of this translator anymore.

The results of the internal investigation have been handed over to the Belgian authorities, who will determine whether to continue the investigation and whether the alleged incidents are part of a Russian espionage operation.

The woman has not been officially removed from the lists of interpreters at NATO, the French Permanent Mission in Brussels, or French ministries. The French mission in Brussels still includes her in its pool of interpreters, but French authorities contacted by Le Monde assured that they "will take all necessary measures to resolve this incident.".

The Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), which is responsible for counterintelligence, said it had not received any information on the matter.

The Ukrainian embassies in France and Brussels have been refusing to allow this woman to attend events with Zelenskyy's participation for several years. Among the claims made by the employee of the Ukrainian office in Paris is her professional relationship with Russian officials, journalists noted.

In an interview with Le Monde, the interpreter said she was "very surprised that she was approached with such a minor issue." She said that her current relationship with NATO and French ministries suggests that it was simply a misunderstanding .

She refused to comment on the illegal note-taking at the European Council meeting, saying only that "everything related to my work as a translator is classified; my entire professional life is marked by respect for professional ethics.".

• on July 7, Bloomberg reported that Zelenskyy had discussed replacing Ukraine's ambassador to Washington during a conversation with Trump.
• On July 8, a source LIGA.net in the President's Office said that Zelensky told Markarova about his intention to dismiss her.
• On the same day, Sibiga confirmed that Markarova was resigning.