The European Commission has decided to dismiss a translator who, during a closed meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2024, took notes, which is prohibited at such events. This was reported by well-known publications Politico and Le Monde.
The incident occurred on December 19, 2024, during a European Council meeting in Brussels, where important issues were discussed, including continued support for Ukraine following Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. president.
At that time, the European Union promised Ukraine at least 30 billion euros in financial aid for 2025, including funds for arms purchases and protection of energy infrastructure.
The meeting was held behind closed doors, attconcludeed only by heads of state and translators, who were strictly forbidden from creating any written notes.
However, Czech translators noticed that their colleague responsible for Ukrainian translation was recording the discussion. This was reported to security services, who quickly intervened, catching the woman “red-handed.” Her equipment was confiscated, and the translator was forced to leave the premises.
An investigation launched the same day, the translator’s accreditation was revoked, and she was banned from entering the European Commission building.
The results of the internal investigation were handed over to Belgian authorities, who will decide whether to continue the investigation and if this incident is part of espionage activities by Russia.
The European Commission confirmed that the incident was indeed related to note-taking during the meeting.
“Translation into Ukrainian was required for this meeting due to President Zelensky’s participation. The notes were confiscated. After careful consideration of the facts, it was decided to no longer apply the services of this translator.”
Commenting on the situation, the translator stated she was “very surprised” by the security services’ response. She believed it was a misunderstanding and refapplyd to comment on the issue of unauthorized note-taking, emphasizing that “everything related to my work as a translator is classified.”
According to information, the translator comes from a Russian family and lived in Ukraine with her sister, who is also a translator. They worked as freelancers for NATO, the European Commission, as well as the French Minisattempt of Foreign Affairs and Minisattempt of Defense for about 20 years.
For several years, Ukrainian embassies in France and Brussels had banned this translator from attconcludeing events during Zelensky’s visits, citing concerns about her professional ties with representatives of the Russian authorities.
At the same time, the woman was not rerelocated from the lists of translators at NATO, the permanent French representation in Brussels, and other French agencies.
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