One of Canada's largest supermarket chains is taking a small but meaningful step to signal its support for Ukraine.

Loblaws will change the name of the frozen (Kiev) chicken from the President’s Choice-brand, a dish of breaded chicken breast stuffed with herbs and butter, to (Kyiv) chicken, using the Ukrainian spelling.

Meanwhile, Catherine Thomas, Vice President of Communications at Loblaws, said in a written statement: "The product is currently being updated, and we expect to have new products on shelves later this summer."

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted the Ukrainian government to affirm its language and culture after years of Russian dominance under the Soviet Union. Campaigns by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry persuaded Western governments and media to refer to the country’s capital as Kyiv, after the Ukrainian spelling, translated from the Cyrillic alphabet, instead of Kiev, the Russian version.

Although the language campaign focused on the city and not the dish, other players in the food industry have adopted the change since February, when Russian forces launched their attacks on Ukraine and created a humanitarian crisis.

Ricardo Larrivee, a chef from Quebec, was an early adopter of "chicken Kyiv," a Quebec-based chef who has been hosting his cooking show for over 20 years. His website changed the spelling of the recipe on March 2, less than a week after the war began.

Natalie Carbonneau, Vice President of Communications at Larrivee, Ricardo Media, said in an email: "We are sensitive to the current situation and it was important for us to show our solidarity with Ukrainians."

By naming the dish "chicken Kyiv," Loblaws joins many supermarket chains and food manufacturers in Australia and the UK who have already changed their spelling following widespread calls on Twitter.

Despite its name, Kiev/Kyiv chicken has no Russian or Ukrainian roots.

Dara Goldstein, Professor Emerita of Russian at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and author of six cookbooks, including two dedicated to Russian (and Soviet) cuisine, says: "It is a French preparation. Starting from the mid-to-late 19th century, many in the aristocracy in Russia hired French chefs."

These chefs brought to Russia the French la maréchale style of cooking meat, where a piece of tender meat is wrapped in a mixture of breadcrumbs and egg, then cooked.

Goldstein says: "Most Soviet sources claim it was invented in 1947 by the head chef of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, to celebrate his return from negotiations in Paris." She adds that it is unclear how reliable this claim is, because Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union in 1947, and the Soviet Foreign Minister in 1947 was ethnically Russian, not Ukrainian."

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair