Ukraine abstains in vote on new UN map over Crimea’s distinct coloring

Ukraine did not support a UN General Assembly resolution on switching to the new Equal Earth cartographic projection — because on the political version of that map, Crimea is shown in a separate color rather than as part of Ukraine.

On the political version of the Equal Earth map, which shows cities and borders, Ukraine is colored green, Russia yellow, and Crimea beige. This visually separates the peninsula from both Ukraine and Russia.

Kyiv’s representative stated that he would not support the new cartographic projection but would not vote against it either. Ukraine ultimately abstained. The resolution was supported by 164 countries; one country — the United States — voted against it, and six more states, including Ukraine, abstained.

The resolution calls for replacing the widely used Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection. The Mercator projection greatly enlarges territories at high latitudes, making Africa appear significantly smaller than it actually is compared to Eurasia and North America. The main practical effect of the map update is a substantial increase in the depicted size of Africa.

The adopted resolution is advisory in nature and does not prohibit the use of the Mercator projection.