The unprecedented surge in international attention to Ukraine last year was followed by a natural decline. Russia's war against Ukraine gradually disappeared from the front pages of mainstream media. The world is watching the situation in the Gaza Strip, preparing for the US presidential elections and worrying about rising food and energy prices.
Can Ukraine retain the interest of foreign audiences without losing the critical support of partner countries — figured it out together with Brand Ukraine experts.
How the world's interest in Ukraine has changed since the beginning of a full-scale war
According to the Brand Ukraine study, the number of publications about Ukraine in international media decreased throughout the year. Thus, in the third quarter of 2023 the country was written about 25% less frequently than a year ago. In addition, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, the war in Ukraine became the topic that the population of Europe and the United States most often deliberately avoided among all other analyzed topics when consumption of news content.
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Ukraine’s position in international rankings and indices that describe the perception of the country and its influence in the international arena is also gradually deteriorating. Ukraine took 57th place out of 60 in one of the most authoritative ratings of country brands, Nation Brands Index 2023, dropping 10 steps compared to last year. In addition, Ukraine lost 6 positions in the ranking U.S. News Best Countries, ranked 68th out of 87.
However, according to experts from the organization working on the development of the Ukrainian brand in the world Brand Ukraine — this is not a reason to panic. Instead, it is worth consciously accepting new circumstances and starting to look for alternative approaches to attracting attention to the country.
Although interest in Ukraine has fallen after a colossal surge at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it still remains significantly higher than before February 24, 2022. In addition, according to the study Transatlantic Trends, in Europe and North America support for Ukraine's accession to NATO has increased , and support for joining the EU remained at the same high level – 63%.
— The trend is changing, but I would not call the situation a stalemate. We need to thoughtfully respond to changes in the international information field and propose new approaches to highlight Ukraine’s position and our struggle. It is important to understand the global agenda, in particular other challenges emerging in the world, and take this into account in our communications with foreign audiences, — commented the head of Brand Ukraine Maria Lipyatskaya.
What are the reasons for the decline in foreigners’ interest in Ukraine
The decline in the attention of international audiences is natural and does not necessarily indicate that the world is tired of Ukraine and the war. There are many objective reasons why the country disappeared from the front pages of leading media.
2023 was full of important geopolitical events. Hamas attack on Israel became the most popular search query years in search engines. Powerful earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh caused no less excitement. Therefore, it is not surprising that the fate of publications about Ukraine in the international information field was lower than last year.
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In addition, attention to Ukraine during the first months of the full-scale Russian invasion was so extreme that the decline in interest and avoidance of news on this topic was expected.
— What worked effectively in communications at the beginning of a full-scale invasion no longer works. On February 24 last year, the whole world instantly became our target audience in international communications, emotional information about events in Ukraine on the principle of “one to all at the same time” made sense.
Today Ukraine must be ready for substantive discussions on complex and often uncomfortable topics with specific target audiences — countries, communities, international organizations. To remain interesting to them, all these audiences must hear from Ukraine something useful for themselves, not only for us, — notes Deputy Head of Brand Ukraine Marina Dadinova.
What will influence the interest of foreigners in Ukraine in the new year
2024 has the potential to be a year of tectonic geopolitical changes that will have a significant impact on the course of the war in Ukraine.
The main challenge will be new US presidential elections, in which, according to according to American polls, former President Donald Trump has a high chance of winning.
In addition, in July there will be elections to the European Parliament, in which 720 new deputies will be elected, and they will have a voice in resolving issues important for Kyiv in Brussels. Experts predict that the role of populist right-wing parties in the European Parliament will increase, but note that this will not affect the support of Ukraine by European partners in the short term.
Given the continuation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the situation with security in the Middle East will remain an equally resonant topic in the international media. The world will also continue to watch the unfolding tensions between the US and China, North Korea's weapons testing, and the global challenges posed by climate change and the rapid development of AI.
How to keep Ukraine in the center of world attention
In the context of the new geopolitical reality, Ukraine needs to radically change its approaches to international communications, balancing emotions with constructive discussion that is guided by verified data and mutual interests.
Donald Trump claims that if he is re-elected president, he will put an end to the war at the negotiating table within 24 hours, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatens in every possible way to prevent Ukraine from joining the EU. Given these threats, Ukraine needs to defend its interests with strong arguments constructed with exceptional attention to the global geopolitical context.
— The government, civil society and experts should join forces to communicate coherently with the world, guided by the interests of Ukraine and the current interests of specific foreign audiences. Now we definitely cannot afford contradictions in positions and messages. Only emotions and unreasoned demands no longer work. We need to thoughtfully respond to changes in the international information field and propose new approaches to highlight Ukraine’s position and our struggle, — concludes Maria Lipyatskaya.
According to Brand Ukraine experts, following these recommendations will help maintain attention to Ukraine:
- create strategic analytical materials with clear conclusions instead of emotional messages about point events;
- cover Russian war crimes through the prism of verified facts, figures and statistics;
- focus not only on the war, but also on topics related to Ukrainian people, traditions and history;
- emphasize Ukraine's independent achievements in strategic areas, in particular in the production of weapons and supporting the economic viability of the country.
By the way, a new poll shows that support for aid to Ukraine has increased among Americans.
