Turkey and Russia have released competing maps showing where a Russian warplane violated - or steered clear of, depending on the point of view - Turkish airspace before it was shot down early Tuesday.

These maps help explain the offensive and what is happening on the ground. Between 25 and 35 million ethnic Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia.

The publication of the map by a nationalist website in Turkey, which frequently features retired Admiral Cihat Yaycı, the ...