It is an anchor curved to look like a heart, a symbol of love and home.

But a simple logo has come to represent some international bickering.

A Russian artist has accused a Scottish charity of plagiarising his design for the historic Ukrainian city of Odessa’s new brand.

“Scotland has stolen from Odessa,” Artemy Lebedev told local media in Ukraine.

Mr Lebedev was referring to a series of 20 anchors installed across North-East Scotland and the Northern Isles by Friends of Anchor, a charity fundraising for research in to cancer at Aberdeen University.

His claims have sparked a mixed response in the great Black Sea port, famed for its humour and maritime culture.

“The Scots should turn all those anchors in to shovels,” said one social media commentator. “What does Odessa get out of this?” asked another.

Some in Odessa have suggested claims of plagiarism are mean-spirited: the Scottish anchors are to help cure serious diseases.

Ukraine’s deputy minister for tourism, Ivan Liptuga, even got involved in the issue. He said: “Odessa’s city branding is a really successful case and is widely used by residents and copied by other cities.”

But he added that Scots saw the similarity as as a “co-incidence”.