Ukraine Blasts Apple For 'Not Giving A Damn' About Its Pain

Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticized Apple Inc. AAPL for showing Crimea and Sevastopol as part of the Russian Federation.

What Happened

Apple fell in line with the Russian government’s demand to show the Crimean Peninsula as part of the country in the map and weather apps on its iPhones and iPads, BBC reported on Wednesday.

The State Duma of Russia, in a statement, said that Apple “fulfilled its obligations” by bringing the applications in line with the Russian legislation.

“The Apple representative informed the Chairman of the Committee that inaccuracy in displaying the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as the territory of the Russian Federation in the Maps and Weather apps on Apple devices were finally removed,” the State Duma said.

The change is only visible within the Russian territory, BBC noted. For the users browsing from the rest of the world, the Crimean Peninsula isn’t shown as part of either Russia or Ukraine.

Why It Matters

Crimea was controversially annexed by the Russian Army and its separatist allies in 2014, which was hitherto a part of Ukraine.

The action was heavily criticized by Ukraine, the U.S., and many other countries and organizations across the world.

Russia was removed from the elite group of eight, or G8, countries, following the annexation — in what started a series of sanctions placed on the country, Business Insider reported at the time.

Ukraine Reacts

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister asked Apple to stick to its core business and not indulge in global politics.

“Imagine you're crying out that your design [and] ideas, years of work, [and a] piece of your heart, are stolen by your worst enemy but then [somebody] ignorant doesn't give a damn about your pain. That's how it feels when you call [Crimea] a [Russian] land.”