The Russian online giant “Yandex” erases all borders in its cards. What exactly is behind this remains unclear. There is speculation that the company wants to avoid having to redraw borders if Putin’s expansionist fantasies succeed.
Yandex, often referred to as the “Russian Google,” announced that it no longer clearly marks borders on its maps. On the Yandex maps, only fine lines now separate all countries – just like regions or counties.
What is behind this step is unclear. Yandex told the Techcrunch portal that it wants to make its maps more localized, so borders between states aren’t that relevant. “Therefore, the focus is shifted from national borders to natural objects.”
It continues: “Our goal is to represent the world around us. Therefore, some objects – such as mountains, rivers, arctic circle lines and other data specific to this type of map – will appear on it.”
On the other hand, it is suspected online that the company wants to avoid having to redraw the borders – in the event that Russia takes over Ukraine or parts of it.
On Thursday, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin put the Ukraine war on the same level as the Great Northern War under Russia’s Tsar Peter I and spoke of a return campaign for Russian soil. According to the Interfax agency, Putin drew parallels to the war against Ukraine. June 9th is the 350th birthday of Peter the Great, who was the first Russian tsar to call himself Emperor.
There are renewed reports of dead and wounded civilians in Russian attacks. Sieryerodonetsk is largely under Russian control – civilians seek refuge in chemical plant in Sieryerodonetsk. All news about the attack on Ukraine can be found here in the ticker.
