A re:Store shop in Tverskaya Street as Apple launches iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR sales in Russia. Anton Novoderezhkin | TASS | Getty Images

Ukraine has denounced Apple for referring to the annexed Crimean Peninsula as a Russian territory on its apps. The way global companies identify Crimea has been a highly sensitive issue for both countries since Kremlin-backed forces annexed the region from Ukraine in March 2014. Ukraine and its Western allies have maintained that this move was illegal. For users of Apple devices in Crimea, the territory is now shown as part of Russia when it is searched on the U.S. tech giant's Weather or Map apps. However, those same apps do not show Crimea as part of any country when it is viewed from outside of the region.

The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said in a statement on the chamber's website on Wednesday that Apple had "fulfilled its obligations and brought the applications on its devices in compliance with the requirements of the Russian legislation." Tweet 1 "Let me explain in your terms, Apple," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said via Twitter on Wednesday. "Imagine you're crying out that your design and ideas, years of work and piece of your heart are stolen by your worst enemy but then smb ignorant doesn't give a damn about your pain. That's how it feels when you call Crimea a (Russian) land."

'Huge scandal'