While maps can't help with that question, they can illuminate many other aspects of the current crisis. Which is why we have compiled this collection to show some underlying truths about the conflict that the world is watching.
1. Language and identity
Ukraine is, in many ways, a divided country. Some of that is reflected in the language spoken by its people, as this illustration shows:
A different twist on the same data, the next map illustrates the percentage of people for whom Russian is their mother tongue. In most of the country's west, including the capital, Kiev, it's less than 10 percent. Go further east, though, and percentages rise until one out of every two people is a native Russian speaker. This, by the way, is also the situation in Crimea.
2. Ethnicity and nationality
The figures about language correlate with other aspects of Ukrainians' identity. Look at this map of how many of them were ethnic Russians in 2001, and it's the same east-west-divide again:
Ten years later and the data tells a similar story. This time, the figures are for Russian passport holders among Ukraine's citizens. The national average is 17.3 percent, but Crimea comes in at 58.3 percent, with the city of Sevastopol even reaching 71.6 percent.
By now the east-west pattern should be familiar. Here's how it plays out in recent voting history. Supporting former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko? Very much a West Ukrainian phenomenon. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's strongholds, meanwhile, are in the south and the east of the country.
The proportions on this map appear to be a little warped, but it still gets the salient points across, showing where various military units are stationed on Ukrainian territory.
Combine that with this map of where Russian forces are based in Crimea (and we're talking about their regular positions, not the current ones), and you can see why the international community is keeping a close watch on everything happening in Ukraine these days.
How does Russian gas reach buyers in Europe? The answer is, unsurprisingy, through Ukraine. This map shows how dependent Russia is on Ukraine to trade its gas.
The other map is roughly 500 years old. Drawn by Ottoman admiral Piri Reis, it shows Crimea and the surrounding waters. With its intricate shorelines and gilt accents, it is a thing of beauty.
If only everything was so simple.
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