Ukrainian president: ”Northern Bukovina was occupied by Romanians in 1918!”

“…most of the territory of Galicia was occupied by Polish troops. Romanians occupied Northern Bukovyna, and Czechoslovakia occupied Zakarpattia.” This was the initial English translation of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech on the Day of Union of Ukraine; the translation was displayed on the English version of the Ukrainian presidential website.

Now, the official website of the Ukrainian presidency displays the same speech, but the word “occupied” was replaced by the general word “taken.” The changes were done only after the official diplomatic protests from the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Romanian officials. Also, Romanian mass media played an essential role in teaching the Ukrainian president a history lesson.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Bucharest, Mr. Oleksandr Bankov, tried to offer an excuse, blaming the English translation for misinterpreting the Ukrainian president’s speech. Despite his trying, the original words of the Ukrainian president were:

Північну Буковину зайняли румуни

If you have the curiosity to translate words from Ukrainian to English, all the English online dictionaries offer the exact translation:

Northern Bukovina was occupied by Romanians

Of course, Ukrainian translators don’t use online software to translate the president’s speech. At the same time, we also understand that the Ukrainian translators see the difference between “taken” and “occupied” and also, they know the meaning of the word зайняли. But, after all, we only can guess that the Ukrainian president has learned more acting than history during his school and faculty.

No, comrade Zelensky. Romania hasn’t occupied, nor has it taken, any Ukrainian territories. Your interpretation of history is inaccurate and spreads false information regarding the historical truth. Also, it denigrates Romania and offends Romanians.

The history is very different from what you, comrade Zelensky, know about those moments: Bukovina was part of Moldova, the Romanian province, until 1775, when the Turks offered it to the Habsburgs following the Turkish-Russian war. After that, in 1918, Bukovina returned to the motherland following the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1940 Bukovina, Basarabia, and other Romanian territories were taken (occupied, Mr. Zelensky?) by the Soviet Union following the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. In 1991, Northern Bukovina remained Ukrainian territory after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

вам зрозуміло, президент Зеленський?