The Union of Ukrainians in Portugal (UUP) has formally appealed to the country’s General Inspectorate of Education and Science, urging a review of a 7th-grade geography textbook that incorrectly depicts Crimea as Russian territory.
“We regret to inform that, despite the Portuguese Republic’s official political stance, and now in the 11th year of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Portuguese Ministry of Education continues to provide secondary schools with geography textbooks for 7th-grade students that depict the Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia rather than Ukraine,” the appeal states.
The statement was issued by Pavlo Sadokha, UWC Vice-President and President of the UUP.
In addition to the issue with the Crimean Peninsula, the textbook refers to the territories of present-day Ukraine and Russia during the 9th to 12th centuries as the “Russian Principality.”
“This portrayal contradicts established Ukrainian historical and scholarly views and reflects the Russian narrative used by the Russian Federation to justify its aggression against Ukraine,” the appeal reads.
UUP became aware of this textbook through a Ukrainian student who fled the war and is currently studying in Portugal using these materials.
“The boy is undergoing a severe psychological crisis caused by the trauma of Russian aggression and the forced displacement from his homeland and community,” the appeal reads.
The Ukrainian community calls on the Inspectorate of Education and Science to investigate the sources used by the textbook’s authors regarding Crimea and Russian history, and to “make the necessary corrections to align the textbook with historical facts and internationally recognized sovereign borders.”
“UUP is ready to support cooperation between Ukrainian and Portuguese scholars to ensure accuracy,” the appeal reads.
