As the Russia-initiated conflict in Ukraine continues to unfold, Apple’s Maps and Weather apps are now once again referring to Crimea as part of Ukraine when accessed outside of Russia, for the first time since 2014.
It was in 2014 that Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, undertaking a military invasion of the peninsula, and putting new officials in place. This was followed by the holding of a referendum asking how Crimea would like to leave Ukraine, with no option provided for the territory to remain.
Back then, however, Apple initially refrained from marking Crimea as belonging to any country. That changed in 2019, when the Maps and Weather apps were updated to show Crimea as part of Russia when viewed within Russia. This move was strongly criticized by Ukrainian officials, but was regarded by their Russian counterparts as a correction of an “inaccuracy”.
Now, as reported late on Thursday, it seems that Apple has reverted within the apps to marking Crimea as Ukrainian territory, for users in countries including Ukraine itself, the United States, and Australia.
As of the time of typing, it wasn’t clear exactly when this update to the apps occurred. It has been reported, however, that Crimea is still shown as belonging to Russia when the apps are accessed in Russia.
