‘Slap in the face’: ALDI angers Sydney’s Ukrainian community with contentious world map

The supermarket giant has angered the city’s Ukrainian community with a map that shows one part of the country as belonging to Russia and another as disputed.

A supermarket giant has angered Sydney’s Ukrainian community with a contentious world map sold across its stores that depicts one area of the country as belonging to Russia and another as “disputed”.

ALDI, the German discount supermarket that operates over 500 stores in Australia, is facing criticism from Sydney’s Ukrainians after the company started selling a world map that depicts the Crimea as part of Russia and the Donbas region – the nucleus of the current crisis – as a “disputed” territory, rather than part of Ukraine

The world map, created by The Knowledge Factory, shades the Ukrainian peninsula that was annexed by Russian military forces in 2014 in the same country colour and includes crosshatching. ALDI explained upon request that the crosshatching signifies a disputed territory

Crimea is depicted as part of Russia and the Donbas region deemed “in dispute” on the Aldi map. Picture: Supplied

Similarly, the Donbas region, including the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, is depicted as a “disputed territory”, rather than Ukrainian.

Some may wonder why a map sold in the children’s aisle of a supermarket is important, but to Ukrainians depicting Ukraine as its own country is of significant and personal importance.

“I was shocked, it felt like a slap in the face,” Oleg Sapishchuk, who stumbled across the map when looking for toys for his son at Macquarie Centre’s ALDI, said.

A general view of Aldi Supermarket signage in Surry Hills in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Gaye Gerard

“It’s very important for us that people understand Ukraine is a sovereign country, we have our own territory.

“In Russian media and propaganda they always say we are not a sovereign nation, that there is no Ukraine.”

The correct spelling and pronunciation of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and dropping ‘the’ often used before naming the country are two examples of small ways in which to acknowledge that the country is sovereign, and not part of Russia.

Mr Sapishchuk said he “wanted to destroy the map” when he saw it, and when he inquired about the map with the manager he was encouraged to lodge an online complaint with ALDI.

A world map on sale in Aldi stores in Sydney, which has angered the city's Ukrainian community. Picture: Supplied

A spokeswoman for ALDI said the company “does not condone Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and aggression in Ukraine”, and said it would review the map with its supplier ahead of any future editions.

The construct of the map is created with data from Natural Earth, a public geographical dataset, which has its own disputed boundary policy.

“Natural Earth draws boundaries of sovereign states according to de facto status rather than de jure or ‘by law’ status – of which Crimea would be shown as part of Ukraine,” the spokeswoman said.

“The construction shows which entity actually controls the situation on the ground. This policy in map drawing is consistent with the industry, though we appreciate it can be jarring.”

There has been heavy war in the city of Druzhkivka (also written Druzhkovka) in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, which is a focus of Russia’s invasion. Picture: AFP

Interestingly, however, Taiwan is depicted on the map as being part of China.

Mr Sapishchuk, who is from western Ukraine near the city of Lviv and emigrated to Australia last year for work, said any imagery and language that depicts Ukraine as only a part-state or its borders as up for debate was unhelpful.

“It’s very important we understand Ukraine is its own country,” he said.

“If we perceive the Crimea as part of Russia or the Donbas as a disputed territory, how can we recognise Ukraine as sovereign and support it as its own country?”

“These areas are Ukrainian.”

Originally published as ‘Slap in the face’: ALDI angers Sydney’s Ukrainian community with contentious world map