Hertsa region | |
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 %2cformer_synagogue%2cnow-Culture_palace.jpg)  
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 Map of modernChernivtsi Oblast with historical regions outlined: red: northernBukovina, blue: Hertsa region, green: northernBessarabia | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Largest city | Hertsa |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
TheHertsa region, also known as theHertza region (Ukrainian:Край Герца,romanized: Krai Hertsa;Romanian:Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town ofHertsa withinChernivtsi Raion in the southern part ofChernivtsi Oblast in southwesternUkraine, near the border withRomania. With an area of around 304 km2 (117 sq mi),[1] it has a population of about 32,300 people (as of 2001), 93% of whom are ethnicRomanians.
The territory, historically part ofMoldavia, was one of the five districts ofDorohoi County. Following theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939, theSoviet Union issued on June 26, 1940, anultimatum toRomania that threatened the use of force.[2] The Romanian government, responding to the Soviet ultimatum, agreed to withdraw from the territories to avoid a military conflict. A few days later,Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Hertsa region was attached to theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[3][4] As it was not mentioned in the ultimatum, the annexation of the Hertsa region was not consented to by Romania.[2] The region (together with the rest of Bessarabia and Bukovina) was recaptured by Romania during 1941–1944 in the course of theAxis attack on the Soviet Union inWorld War II, until theRed Army captured it again in 1944. Sovietannexation of this territory was internationally recognized by theParis Peace Treaties in 1947.
Romania andUkraine have signed and ratified a border agreement and are signatories of international treaties and alliances that denounce any territorial claims. Romanian organisations in the region consider Hertsa to be historically Romanian, detached from it by the Soviet Union in 1940 in violation ofinternational law. The correspondent of "New Region", Sergei Vulpe, with reference to theBucharest newspaperZiua reported on April 17, 2008[5] that thePresident of Romania,Traian Băsescu, stated that if Ukraine wants to annexTransnistria, then they should returnSouthern Bessarabia (Budjak) and northernBukovina (Chernivtsi Oblast that includes the Hertsa region) toMoldova.
Banat (1918–)a |
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Dobruja (1878–) |
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Moldavia (1859–)b |
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Transylvania (1918–)ag | |
Wallachia (1859–)b | |
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