Vărăncău
Воронко́во (Russian)
Воронко́во (Ukrainian)
Commune
Vărăncău is located in Moldova
Vărăncău
Vărăncău
Coordinates: 47°42′21″N 29°7′9″E / 47.70583°N 29.11917°E / 47.70583; 29.11917
Country (de jure) Moldova
Country (de facto) Transnistria[lower-alpha 1]
DistrictRîbnița District
Elevation
184 m (604 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Vărăncău (Ukrainian: Воронково, Russian: Воронко́во, Voronkovo, Polish: Woronków[1][2]) is a commune in the Rîbnița District of Transnistria, Moldova, composed of three villages: Buschi (Буськи), Gherșunovca (Гершунівка) and Vărăncău.[3] It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) southeast of Rîbnița.

History

Woronków, as it was known in Polish, was a private village of the Lubomirski family,[1] administratively located in the Bracław County in the Bracław Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland.[2] Following the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793, it was annexed by Russia. In 1800 the Church of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary was built.[1] In the late 19th century, it had a population of 2,073.[1]

The village Vărăncău is the site of the Church of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption, a Christian Orthodox church, construction of which was completed in 1800.[1] Since then, the church has been open and functioning, standing much as it did when it first opened its doors. It is the only church in Transnistria which was never closed during the Soviet times when all other churches had to close, holding therefore a special significance for the religious community in Transnistria.

In 1924, it became part of the Moldavian Autonomous Oblast, which was soon converted into the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 during World War II. From 1941 to 1944, it was administered by Romania as part of the Transnistria Governorate.

Vărăncău also had a now abandoned military aerodrome of the former Soviet Union. The 2,500-metre (2,700-yard) long runway has today been turned into farmland.[4] The aerodrome was repeatedly struck by drones flying over the village on 6 May 2022.[5] This was part of a series of attacks that happened in Transnistria as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was developing. These incidents may have been a false flag operation by Russia or Transnistria itself.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Transnistria's political status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is not recognised by any UN member state. The Moldovan government and the international community consider Transnistria a part of Moldova's territory.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1893. p. 954.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 Krykun, Mykola (2012). Воєводства Правобережної України у XVI-XVIII століттях: Статті і матеріали (in Ukrainian and Polish). pp. 530–531. ISBN 978-617-607-240-9.
  3. ↑ Clasificatorul unităților administrativ-teritoriale al Republicii Moldova (CUATM) (in Romanian)
  4. ↑ "russianairfields.com". www.russianairfields.com.
  5. ↑ Aitken, Peter (7 May 2022). "Breakaway Moldova state of Transnistria reports explosions along Ukraine border". Fox News.
  6. ↑ "Possible 'false flag' attacks in separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria raises concerns Russia plans to expand conflict". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 April 2022.
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