Even so, Ukraine’s flag looks likely to fly over Bessarabia for some time to come. This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Towards the unknown ...

WHEN RUSSIA first attacked Ukraine in 2014 Bessarabia was a place to worry about. Less than half of its people identified as Ukrainian. The region was poor and, for historical and economic reasons ...

Within a week the Russians had ad vanced 125 miles, overrun 18.500 square miles, recovered all of Bessarabia, killed or captured 300,000 enemy troops.

Later on, during World War II, Bessarabia was incorporated into the U.S.S.R., with most of its territory becoming the Soviet republic of Moldova. And when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ...