A GEOGRAPHY textbook for teenagers has sparked a diplomatic incident between Oxford University Press and the Ukrainian Government.

The Walton Street publisher’s latest edition of Geog.3 – aimed at pupils aged 11 to 14 – said that Crimea was part of Russia.

But it has prompted a strongly-worded letter from one of Ukraine’s top diplomats in Britain, who claimed it was “a grave mistake” and demanded it be changed.

The Crimean Peninsula was annexed from Ukraine last year by Russia, after a revolution in Ukraine and the ousting of its former pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych. Its annexation followed a referendum held by pro-Russian forces, which was branded illegal by Britain and its allies.

The OUP textbook was published in June this year. Aimed at pupils in Years Seven, Eight and Nine, it describes Crimea as a “small exclave ... which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014.”

But Ukrainian Embassy spokeswoman Oksana Kyzyma said that “showing Crimea as a part of Russian territory contradicts international law as Crimea was brutally annexed by Russia with its boots on the ground”.

She added: “Children will get inaccurate information from the textbooks.

“We don’t believe it was aimed as an anti-Ukrainian campaign, but this grave mistake needs to be corrected.”

The incident also attracted the attention of Ukrainian news crews, who were out filming in High Street yesterday afternoon.

In his letter to OUP, Ukraine’s London-based charge d’affaires, Igor Kyzym, expressed “deep concern” about the textbook.

He wrote: “Crimea is neither Russian nor the exclave.

“When referring to the so-called ‘referendum’ held by the Russian occupants, the textbook fails to mention that it was held under the barrels of Russian guns. This sham ‘referendum’ has never been recognised by the international community.

“ I hope that the recent edition of the textbook would be immediately updated and all the mistakes corrected.”

Yesterday an OUP spokesman could not confirm if the textbooks would be recalled or continue to be printed, but said the wording would be changed in future editions.

He added: “All information in our atlases and geographical resources are developed through detailed research into the political, social, and economic situation at the time of publication.

“The exact information that is included on a topic in any particular publication takes account of the level of the students, the learning objective, and uses language that will engage learners.

“We continuously review all our materials to reflect changes in circumstance and feedback from sources.”

Last night a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Britain said: “The Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol are an inalienable part of the Russian Federation.”