Turkmenistan Rebukes Ukrainian TV Channel for Misleading Report on Internet Access
Ashgabat, July 9, 2025 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan has issued a strong protest against what it described as biased and unfounded information aired by the Ukrainian television channel FREEДОМ concerning Turkmenistan’s access to the Internet.
According to an official statement published by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, the controversial report was broadcast on July 8 and allegedly portrayed Turkmenistan as a “closed” country in terms of Internet freedom. The Ministry sharply criticized the Ukrainian media outlet for disseminating false claims, emphasizing that FREEДОМ‘s staff “have no real understanding about modern Turkmenistan, have never visited the country, and have no contacts with state or public institutions, including Turkmen journalists.”
The statement also stressed that this is not the first instance of the FREEДОМ channel spreading misinformation about Turkmenistan, accusing it of a pattern of delivering “deliberately implausible and distorted” content.
Highlighting the long-standing cooperation and support between the two countries, Turkmenistan reminded that it has consistently extended economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since gaining independence. This includes the supply of significant volumes of natural gas over the years and the implementation of multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and energy projects by Ukrainian companies operating in Turkmenistan.
The Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the apparent disregard for this cooperative history and emphasized the importance of the principle: “good is repaid with good.”
The Turkmen side has called on the Ukrainian authorities responsible for information policy to take appropriate measures under Ukrainian law to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
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