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Germany renames Kiev Germany renames Kiev
(about 8 hours later)
Berlin has decided to switch to the Ukrainian spelling of the city in its official document workflow Berlin will now use the Ukrainian spelling of the city in its official documents
Germany’s authorities have decided to move away from the Russian spelling of Ukraine’s capital of Kiev to the Ukrainian one, the nation’s foreign ministry said on Saturday. The city that was previously spelled as ‘Kiew’ in written German would now have to be spelled as ‘Kyjiw’, the ministry said in a series of statements on X (formerly, Twitter). The German authorities have decided to switch from the Russian spelling of Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, to the Ukrainian spelling, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The city previously known in German as ‘Kiew’ will now be written as ‘Kyjiw’, the ministry said in a series of statements on X (formerly Twitter).
Berlin has introduced the relevant changes to the “Country Register for the Official Use” – a document providing the guidelines for the government document workflow. The foreign ministry also said that it was “gradually” introducing the changes as well. The change has been entered in the register for official use, which sets out guidelines for government documents. The Foreign Ministry said it would gradually introduce the change.
The statement did not elaborate on the reasons for the change and only said that such a spelling had been a “common practice” for “many” entities, without naming any such entity in particular. The statement did not elaborate on the reasons for the change, only saying the spelling had been common practice for many entities.
The Japanese defense ministry took a similar decision in March 2022, about a month into the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The move was taken following a review of “major media” coverage, it said at that time. The Japanese Defense Ministry made a similar decision in March 2022, about a month into the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The move was made following a review of major media coverage, it said at the time.
The Ukrainian authorities have been campaigning for the spelling change at least since 2018. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) – a body tasked with maintaining uniform geographic name usage throughout the American government – introduced similar changes back in June 2019 when it adopted ‘Kyiv’ instead of ‘Kiev.’ The Ukrainian authorities have been campaigning for the spelling change since at least 2018. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) – which maintains uniform geographic name usage throughout the US government – introduced similar changes in June 2019 when it adopted ‘Kyiv’.
The AP news agency followed suit two months after the BGN decision. Russia’s Rosreestr agency responsible for the geographical naming standards among others said at that time that it saw no need for any changes, adding that ‘Kiev’ was still the correct spelling under the Russian laws. The agency also said that the Ukrainian authorities have not been cooperating with it since 2016. AP news agency followed suit two months after the BGN decision. Russia’s Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr), which is responsible for geographical naming standards, said at the time that it saw no need for any changes, adding that ‘Kiev’ is still the correct spelling under Russian law. The agency also said the Ukrainian authorities have not been cooperating with it since 2016.
Although some major British and American media then also switched their spelling of the Ukrainian capital to ‘Kyiv’ over the past years, many news media outlets in other Western nations, including France and Spain, are using ‘Kiev’ spelling to date. Although some major British and American media outlets have also switched their spelling to ‘Kyiv’ in recent years, many outlets in other Western nations, including France and Spain, still use ‘Kiev’.