KIEV, November 7. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Embassy in the United States has requested that The New York Times stop publishing geographic content that omits Crimea from Ukraine’s territorial map.
"The embassy has once again asked The New York Times editorial board not to ignore errors concerning Crimea’s designation on Ukraine’s map and not to play into the hands of Russia’s media propaganda," the diplomatic mission said in a statement published on its Facebook page.
The map, which runs counter to Kiev’s official line on Crimea’s possession, was published in an article devoted to the plans of Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky, who intends to build a ski resort in Svidovets, in the Carpathian Mountains in southwestern Ukraine. On the NYT’s map, Ukraine’s territory has a lighter tint than Crimea, whose color is exactly the same as that of Russia.
"The mistake must be corrected!" the Ukrainian diplomats commented, conveying their demand to the journalists at the American paper.
This case is not the first of its kind. In 2017, The New York Times published a map, on which Crimea did not differ in color from the rest of the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demanded the American newspaper publish a map, designating Crimea as Ukrainian territory.
The press service of The New York Times responded to a TASS request that it depicted Crimea on that map as "disputed territory" in accordance with the newspaper’s editorial policy.
Other foreign media outlets also publish such maps. In October, USA Today published an article with a series of geographical maps, where Crimea was omitted from Ukraine’s map. This August, the UK-based paper The Guardian published an article and a photo with a caption that Crimea is part of Russia. The newspaper changed the caption after Ukraine had protested.
Crimean reunification
After Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted in a coup in February 2014, mass protests erupted in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. On March 11, 2014, Crimea’s Supreme Council and Sevastopol City Council adopted a declaration of independence.
On March 16, 2014, Crimean authorities held a referendum on reuniting with Russia. Over 80% of voters participated in the plebiscite, most of them supporting the idea (96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in the city of Sevastopol).
On March 18, 2014 President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty on Crimea’s reunification with Russia and the Federal Assembly (parliament) approved the document on March 21. However, Kiev has so far refused to acknowledge Crimea as part of Russia.