Ukraine Between Peace Talks and Media Challenges

Fortunately, the war between Ukraine and Russia is showing positive signs in recent developments. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced his willingness to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person in Istanbul to discuss ending the conflict.

The statement, posted on X, came shortly after Donald Trump's appeal for Ukraine to accept Russia's proposal for direct talks in Turkey.

Previously, Zelenskyy had clarified that his country was open to dialogue with Russia, but only after the implementation of an effective ceasefire.

The impact of the conflict on the Ukrainian population is also evident in shifts in information consumption patterns. A study published in May 2025 by the organization "Detector Media" and conducted by New Image Marketing Group analyzed media literacy in Ukraine through a survey of 1,200 adults ages 18 to 65. The survey, excluding the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, had two main objectives: to calculate the media literacy index of Ukrainians and to compare its dynamics with previous years.

The results reveal that Ukrainians have developed a greater ability to verify the authenticity of news, but also show fatigue with war-related content and a general reduction in trust in information. The research, particularly in-depth, allowed for the examination of numerous specific aspects of the relationship between the population and the media.

The data collected suggest that Ukraine is divided between those who understand the mechanisms of media power and those who are still influenced by it. Despite a slight decrease from the peak of 81% recorded in 2022, the overall index remains high, with 72% of the adult population demonstrating above-average skills. This apparent drop is attributable to the introduction of new criteria related to artificial intelligence and general cognitive fatigue.

Young people ages 18 to 25 continue to represent the country's digital elite. With 70% of them reaching the highest levels of competence, they demonstrate a natural mastery of online navigation, a spontaneous use of mobile devices, and a strong ability to create content. Having grown up in an era of constant change, they have developed unique skills in processing information – they know how to filter, rework, and decode messages, understanding both the language of memes and the subtext of different platforms.

However, this technological ability does not always translate into genuine critical awareness. While 40 percent of the population claims to regularly check the sources of information, the remaining 60 percent admits either to not doing so systematically or to not knowing how to do it correctly.

The report highlights a marked inequality in the distribution of media literacy. There is a clear imbalance between people with a university degree and those with only a secondary school diploma. In the latter group, a significant 41% are in the lowest levels of the evaluation scale. Economic status represents another determining factor. Individuals with a stable financial situation, who manage to save or live without economic anxieties, generally demonstrate better abilities in evaluating sources, a wider variety of information channels, and greater trust in independent public media.

The most disadvantaged categories are the elderly, residents of rural areas, and those operating on the margins of the formal economic system. These groups show significant difficulties in accessing and understanding media information.

The Information War and the Rise of Suspicion

The Russian invasion has transformed every Ukrainian into a tireless reader of news. The population has developed a greater sensitivity toward attempts at manipulation, with 60% stating that they regularly recognize distorted or incomplete messages.

When it comes to verifying information, behaviors vary. Forty-three percent of respondents check for the presence of sources, 33 percent look for photos or videos to support the news, while 30% rely exclusively on authors already known and considered reliable. However, the ability to identify hoaxes does not always translate into systematic verification.

Among the less educated and more economically disadvantaged groups, a significant 71% admit to never checking the authenticity of news. Suspicion toward the media has increased, but has not yet solidified into a structured verification practice.

Telegram has established itself as a hub of digital information, becoming the preferred platform for political updates (60% of users) and personal communication (57%). Users appreciate its immediacy and perceive a greater sense of closeness, although the absence of editorial controls fosters the circulation of unverified content.

Regarding educational content, YouTube maintains a relevant position with 47% of users, followed by Facebook at 28%. In the field of messaging, Viber retains its primacy with a penetration of 83% among users.

The effect of the war has also reshaped the perception of traditional media. For example, 77% of Ukrainians say that they seek other sources besides the state-run telemarathon “Єдині новини” (United News), which is accused of presenting an overly homogenous view of events.

The impression that the media is controlled or at least biased is growing: 51% believe they work for those in power, 40% for their own interests. At the same time, the proportion of those who suspect the influence of oligarchs has drastically decreased, from 41% to 32%, and that of large industrial groups from 26% to 15%. It is not that they trust more, but they have simply shifted the focus of their doubt.

Artificial Intelligence as a Cultural Divide

Artificial intelligence represented the real novelty of 2024 in the Ukrainian media landscape. 72 percent of Ukrainians do not use it.

Of these, 37 percent say they consider it useless, 13 percent because they do not know how to use it, 10 percent because they do not trust it, and 11 percent because they have never heard of it. The percentages change radically among the younger and more educated segments: 74 percent of the segment with a high level of media literacy are familiar with these tools and use them daily.

The distance between those who recognize an AI-generated image and those who cannot distinguish a deepfake from an authentic document now marks a new cultural boundary.

The specific index on awareness and use of AI contributed to lowering the overall average but also provided a valuable indicator: the next threshold of media literacy will no longer be just the ability to read a text or compare a source, but the ability to recognize a synthetic reality. For now, only 36 percent of Ukrainians are able to identify an artificially generated image with some certainty. The rest oscillate between indifference and technical impossibility.

Meanwhile, economic behaviors related to information are undergoing a transformation. The data reveals that only 30 percent of respondents have ever paid to access digital content such as videos, music, or articles. Even lower is the percentage of those who have donated to independent media, which stands at just 17 percent.

In this case, public participation shows a clear division between those with a high level of media literacy and those who lack it. The former tend to be more active, showing a greater propensity to share, comment on, and support content. Conversely, those with a low media competence index tend to passively undergo the flow of information or ignore it completely.

In the end, the Detector Media report does not paint a country in search of absolute truth, but a society trying to navigate the information chaos. In wartime, this already represents a significant achievement.

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