Pokuttia in the context of "Kolomyia"

Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (Ukrainian: Західна Україна, romanized: Zakhidna Ukraina, IPA: [ˈzɑxidnɐ ʊkrɐˈjinɐ]) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions (oblasts) of Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil and Zakarpattia (which were part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire) are typically included. In addition, Volyn and Rivne oblasts (parts of the territory annexed from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during its Third Partition) are also usually included. In modern sources, Khmelnytskyi Oblast is often included because of its geographical, linguistic and cultural association with Western Ukraine, although this cannot be confirmed from a historical and political point of view. It includes several historical regions such as Carpathian Ruthenia, Halychyna including Pokuttia (the eastern portion of Eastern Galicia), most of Volhynia, northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region, and Podolia. Western Ukraine is sometimes considered to include areas of eastern Volhynia, Podolia, and the small northern portion of Bessarabia.

The area of Western Ukraine was ruled by various polities, including the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but also the Principality of Moldavia; it would then variously come under rule of the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Second Polish Republic, the Kingdom of Romania, and finally the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) in 1939 and 1940 following the invasion of Poland and the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, with the borders finalized after the end of World War II. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it became part of the independent Ukrainian state.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Ukrainian: Івано-Франківська область, romanized: Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna (Івано-Франківщина) or simply Frankivshchyna, is an oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a population of 1,351,822 (2022 estimate).

The area, also known as Prykarpattia, was part of the historical region of Galicia, where the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia flourished. After World War I, the area became part of the Second Polish Republic and was administered as part of Stanisławów Voivodeship until the invasion of Poland. The area was annexed by the Soviet Union and was known as Stanislav Oblast until 1962, when its administrative center was renamed after the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko. Kolomyia was a historical center of the oblast and remains a major cultural center of Pokuttia, the traditional name for the southern part of the oblast.

Kuty (Ukrainian: Кути; Polish: Kuty; Yiddish: קיטעוו, romanized: Kitev, German: Kutten; Romanian: Cuturi), also known historically as Kitów (Ukrainian: Кітув), is a rural settlement in Kosiv Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated on the Cheremosh River. It is one of the historical centres of the ancient region of Pokuttia, the name of which may derive from the township. The current population estimate is 4,001 (2022 estimate). Kuty hosts the administration of Kuty settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine, which consists of Kuty township and 6 villages.

Kuty is often associated with Kitów, Poland, as both settlements have historic familial connections, both communities suffered the destruction of their Jews during the Holocaust, both are the originators of the Kitowski surname, and the two towns share a placename in Polish.

Chernivtsi (Ukrainian: Чернівці, pronounced [tʃern⁽ʲ⁾iu̯ˈts⁽ʲ⁾i] ; Romanian: Cernăuți, pronounced [tʃernəˈutsʲ] ; see also other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivtsi serves as the administrative center for the Chernivtsi urban hromada, the Chernivtsi Raion, and the oblast itself. The Chernivtsi population is 264,298 (2022 estimate), and the latest census in 2001 was 240,600.

The first document that refers to this city dates back to 1408, when Chernivtsi was a town in the region of Moldavia, formerly as a defensive fortification, and became the center of Bukovina in 1488. In 1538, Chernivtsi was under the control of the Principality of Moldavia under Polish suzerainty, later under Ottoman Empire suzerainty, and the Moldavian control lasted for two centuries until 1774, when Austria took control of Bukovina in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War. Chernivtsi (known at that time as Czernowitz) became the center of the Galicia's Bukovina District until 1848, later becoming the Duchy of Bukovina until 1918. In the aftermath of World War I, Romania united with Bukovina in 1918, which led to the city regaining its Romanian name of Cernăuți; this lasted until the Soviets occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Chernivtsi was under the control of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, after which Romania recovered the city, and then again from 1944 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, after which it became part of independent Ukraine.