Bugeac

Bugeac (sometimes spelled Budjak) is the southern part of Bessarabia, now part of Odessa region of Ukraine.

In the antiquity, it was inhabited by Thracians, Scythians, Celts, and on the shores, Greeks.

Tatars also inhabited this region before moving to Dobrogea and Turkey.

The name of the region was given during the Ottoman rule, the Turkish word "Buçak" meaning "corner".

After WWI, it joined Romania with the rest of Bessarabia, but the Soviet Union occupied it during WWII, and after its fall, it became part of Ukraine.

This region was traditionally part of Romania, and a significant Romanian population still inhabits the area. The region only passed under Ukrainian control during the era of Stalin, as it was part of the Molotov-Ribentrop accords. There have been major movements on the part of Romanian nationalists to restore this region to Romanian control, due to its historic roots as a Romanian land, and due to the illegality of the Molotov-Ribentrop accord.

Cities in Bugeac

• Izmail
• Reni
• Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'kyi (Cetatea Albă)