--- title: "'Lies Look Brighter Than the Truth': Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey on the War of Narratives Over Crimea" description: "Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey, Naryman Jelyal, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, described the scale of the information confrontation with Russia in the Turkish media environment over Crimea and acknowledged the resource asymmetry that Kyiv is forced to work under." date: 2026-09-03T10:34:03.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraines-ambassador-to-turkey-on-russian-propaganda-over-crimea tags: [] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # 'Lies Look Brighter Than the Truth': Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey on the War of Narratives Over Crimea ![Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey in interview about the war of narratives around Crimea](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/03/posol-ukrainy-v-turcii-o-propagande-rossii-vozvok-kryma/posol-ukrainy-v-turcii-o-propagande-rossii-vozvok-kryma-1.webp) Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey, Naryman Jelyal, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, revealed details of the information confrontation between Kyiv and Moscow in the Turkish media environment. According to the diplomat, Russia is deliberately promoting narratives in Ankara about Crimea and the "harm allegedly inflicted on peaceful citizens by Ukraine," while the Ukrainian side is forced to compete with a propaganda machine equipped with incomparably greater resources. Jelyal emphasized that for Ukraine it is critically important to maintain a constant presence in the Turkish information space, where the topic of Crimea holds special significance due to the historical and cultural ties between the two countries. ### Resource Asymmetry: Diplomacy as a Frontline Jelyal drew a direct analogy between the military front and the information front: "Just as on the front, our diplomatic team must be very inventive and, with minimal resources, strive to achieve maximum results." In his words, Russia has significantly greater capabilities for running media campaigns, organizing events, and shaping public opinion. The Ukrainian side, by contrast, operates under strict resource constraints, which makes every initiative — from a press tour to a publication in a Turkish outlet — the result of careful calculation and months of preparation. ### Bloggers with Millions of Followers and Audience Engagement A separate vector of Russian influence, as pointed out by the ambassador, is the work with bloggers whose audiences number in the millions. Jelyal acknowledged that the falsehoods they spread are "sometimes appealing to the audience." At the same time, he noted that Turkey has a significant community of professional journalists who cooperate with Ukraine, understand its position, and treat it with empathy. It is through these channels, the diplomat said, that Kyiv tries to convey an alternative version of events to Turkish society. ### The Collaborator Problem and the Impossibility of a Symmetric Response One of the sharpest asymmetries in the information confrontation, Jelyal named the Russian practice of bringing collaborators from occupied territories to Turkey. "The Russians have the opportunity to bring in collaborators who say: 'I am from Crimea,' 'I am from Donetsk,' 'I am from Luhansk' — and then go on to describe how bad Ukraine is and how good Russia is," the ambassador explained. Ukraine, in his words, has no way to present pro-Ukrainian residents of Crimea, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the same model, because upon returning to the occupied territories these people would face the threat of torture, imprisonment, or abduction. "We cannot risk people's lives," the diplomat emphasized. ### Press Tour as a Tool for 'Truth on the Ground' In May 2026, with the support of European partners, Ukraine organized a press tour for Turkish journalists. According to Jelyal, the participants were able to see the situation in the country with their own eyes, including coming under one of Russia's massive shelling attacks and speaking with local residents. Such initiatives, in the ambassador's assessment, are among the few effective tools that allow the Ukrainian side to compete with Moscow's well-worn propaganda schemes on a limited budget. ### 'We Cannot Afford to Lie' Concluding his account of the information presence strategy, Naryman Jelyal formulated the key principle that distinguishes the Ukrainian position from Russian propaganda: "We cannot afford to lie. And lies, unfortunately, very often look simpler, brighter, and more appealing than the truth." Kyiv's task, in his words, is to ensure that the truth about Crimea, about its militarization, and about what Russia has done to the peninsula over the years of occupation "is constantly heard" in the Turkish information space. Jelyal also recalled that many residents of Turkey understand the connection between Crimea's current situation and Russia's years-long actions turning the peninsula into a military base, however this awareness is not sufficient without constant informational support. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Crimea Has Become a Target of Russian Propaganda in Turkey: What the Ambassador Said](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/krim-stav-metoyu-rosiyskoyi-propagandi-turechchini-1788431560.html) - Подтверждено по источнику rbc.ua - [Ukraine's Ambassador in Ankara Highly Praised Turkey's Mediating Role](https://www.aa.com.tr/ru/мир/посол-украины-в-анкаре-высоко-оценил-посредническую-роль-турции/4031539) - Подтверждено по источнику aa.com.tr - [Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey: 'Crimea Will Be Free, Just Like Karabakh'](https://news.am/ru/news/1056045) - Подтверждено по источнику news.am