Ukraine protests UN’s new world map over Crimea depiction
Kyiv lodged an official protest after the UN map adopted on 4 September 2026 shows Crimea visually separated from the rest of Ukraine.
Ukraine lodged a formal protest after the United Nations adopted a new official world map on 4 September 2026 that depicts the Crimean peninsula as visually separated from the rest of Ukrainian territory.
The map uses the Equal Earth projection, designed to give a more accurate sense of continental and country sizes. On the adopted version Crimea appears in grey while the remainder of Ukraine is shown in green; the peninsula is not marked as part of Russia.
Kyiv was one of seven members that did not back the resolution. Five countries — Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Serbia — registered abstentions, and the United States voted against the text.
Reaction from Kyiv
Ukrainian parliamentarian Kira Rudik wrote on X: "In 2026 the UN should not need reminding: Crimea is Ukraine. Shame." Kyiv’s diplomatic note to the United Nations described the way Crimea was depicted as "completely unacceptable."
The resolution, titled "Correct the map," was put forward by African Union member states together with the Bahamas. Its sponsors said the change sought to address distortions on world maps — for example the oversized appearance of Greenland on many projections.
The dispute underlines how cartography remains a sensitive diplomatic issue when maps intersect with unresolved territorial conflicts.
Photo: press material from the event
