Washington, Dec 26 (FN Bureau) Only 68 percent of The New York Times readers know where Ukraine is located on the map, according to current results from this year’s “Great News Quiz” conducted by the newspaper. One of the 40 questions in the online 2021 news quiz claims that “Thousands of Russian troops moved near Ukraine’s border late this year, stoking fear of an invasion.” The readers are then asked to locate Ukraine on the map.
According to current results, only 68 percent of 185,242 readers managed to correctly pinpoint Ukraine’s location. Thus, about 59,000 people do not know where Ukraine is situated. Western countries are accusing Russia of allegedly deploying troops near the Ukrainian border in preparation for “aggressive action.” Moscow has repeatedly denied these accusations, pointing to NATO’s increasing military activity near the Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security. Russia has also said it has the right to move forces within its own territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his end-of-the-year press conference on Thursday that there is an impression that a third military invasion is being prepared in Ukraine and that Russia is being warned in advance not to interfere. Putin added that Russia needs to think about its security and how to live with having to constantly monitor what is happening in Ukraine and what weapon systems are being deployed there.