Today at 18:04
Phone conversations between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ending the war, the shift in the U.S. President’s rhetoric regarding Russian dictator Putin and U.S. support for Ukraine—particularly in arms supplies—as well as the consequences of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, the situation at the front, and rising social tensions in the Caucasus regions—became the key topics that generated the highest audience interest in the FREEДOM channel in July.
In July, the content of the FREEДOM channel on digital platforms of international broadcasting—on social media and messengers (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, X, WhatsApp)—garnered 68.9 million views: 39.8 million on YouTube, 15 million on Facebook, 11.1 million on Telegram, and 3.1 million on TikTok. Overall, in July content from FREEДOM on digital platforms of the state enterprise Multimedia Platform of Ukrainian International Broadcasting (MPIU) and its partners received 177.1 million views. Since launch, FREEДOM’s digital content has reached a total of 13.4 billion views.
The most resonant topic of the month was the change in Donald Trump’s tone regarding Putin’s actions, following massive Russian shelling of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure—specifically, his increased criticism of the Russian dictator and declarations of U.S. support for Ukraine. For example, Trump’s statement expressing his “disappointment following a phone call with Putin”, highlighting his lack of desire to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, garnered over 600,000 views—87.7% from abroad. Another highly viewed clip was Trump’s criticism of Putin during a White House session, coupled with a promise of a new batch of defensive weapons for Ukraine—over 420,000 views, with 87% from abroad. These clips also gained 820,000 views on TikTok. Another fragment of Trump’s comment to journalists aboard a plane—where he described his conversation with Zelensky as “good and strategic” and reaffirmed continued U.S. support for Ukraine—also drew strong attention.
Overall, in July, material related to Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations mediated by the U.S. gathered over 5 million views across YouTube platforms.
In July, approximately 1 million views on FREEДOM’s YouTube platforms were earned by coverage of the consequences of cynical Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure—used as evidence of Moscow’s unwillingness to end the war fairly and durably—and the Ukrainian government’s reaction to these strikes.
Among these was President Zelensky’s statement after yet another strike, in which he emphasized that “Russia deliberately calculated the strike to overload Ukraine’s air defense”—90% of views from abroad, including 19.1% from Russia and 11.4% from Uzbekistan.
Audience attention was also drawn to an interview with Russian writer Eduard Topol on the program “People of Goodwill” with Saken Aymurzaev, which discussed the historical causes of Russian aggression, the role and leadership of the U.S. in supporting Ukraine, as well as prospects for ending the war.
Traditionally, battlefield situation and the personal stories of fighters—especially foreign volunteers—remain central to viewer interest. A segment of “Front News” about Colombian fighters in the 47th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who are successfully fighting in the Sumy direction, demonstrating high preparation, motivation, and commitment to the fight for Ukraine’s freedom, received 540,000 views, with 76.4% from abroad (16.1% from Russia, 12.5% from Kazakhstan).
Topics of inequality, lawlessness, and impunity of security forces and local elites in the Caucasus—elements of the Kremlin’s occupation policy that exacerbate distrust in authorities, heighten social tensions, and could trigger protests—consistently attract Russian-speaking audiences. In July, content on the FREEДOM. CAUCASUS YouTube channel earned 9.2 million views, and subscriber count reached 62,000. The primary audience for FREEДOM. CAUCASUS comes from Russia and Central Asia, with the top viewing cities being Moscow, Tashkent, Dushanbe, and Bishkek.
The most viewed video—approximately 560,000 views (93.5% from abroad)—featured a statement by Kadyrov that “ordinary Chechens must send their children to the ‘holy war’ against Ukraine, while his own children and those of his elite avoid service, act with impunity, live in luxury, and travel abroad.” Another attention-grabbing video exposed lawlessness and impunity of Kadyrov’s security forces in Chechnya, reflecting Kremlin’s occupation policy.
FREEДOM. CAUCASUS content gained 1.3 million views on TikTok during the month. 955,000 views came from a video featuring a fighter from the Sheikh Mansur Chechen battalion, who stressed that “true Muslims always stand for truth, support the oppressed, and fight against tyranny and dictatorship,” as Russia is the enemy. Around 400,000 additional views were on YouTube.
In July, the international broadcasting team stepped up engagement with communities on YouTube, strengthening Russian-speaking communities on these digital platforms. Total reach of community posts across FREEДOM, FREEДOM.LIVE, and FREEДOM.CAUCASUS YouTube channels was 8.7 million: 5.3 million on FREEДOM, 2.3 million on FREEДOM.LIVE, and 1.1 million on FREEДOM.CAUCASUS. The editorial team regularly conducts audience polls on their digital platforms.
Among the topics in July: reasons Putin avoids meeting with Zelensky and Trump—which implies Russia’s continued terror against Ukraine’s civilians following recent negotiations in Turkey; why Russia is introducing a new militarization program; potential reaction and actions by Putin in response to shortening of President Trump’s ultimatum deadline.
Also in July, FREEДОМ updated its broadcast schedule—the number of daily broadcasts of the news program Наш час (“Our Time”) was increased to five, and a promotional campaign for the project was launched on air and on social media.
About FREEДОМ
FREEДОМ is the Ukrainian state international broadcasting channel aimed at Russian-speaking audiences outside Ukraine. It broadcasts via satellite, cable, DTH, IPTV networks of national operators, and OTT platforms. In digital, it is present on 14 internet platforms including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, X, and WhatsApp. FREEДОМ is part of the state enterprise Multimedia Platform of Ukrainian International Broadcasting (MPIU).
MPIU is a stable, multi-tiered institution within the state’s information security system, comprising seven media brands—FREEДОМ, “Dim”, UATV.English, UATV.Arabic, UATV.Español, The Gaze, UATV.Português—which produce and broadcast content in six languages: Ukrainian, English, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese.
