General Ciupercă was still under command of the 4th Army when Romania joined Operation Barbarossa in 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina. Operation München was the codename used for a joint Romanian-German invasion of the Soviet Union through Romanian territory. General Ciupercă and the Fourth Army were tasked with reclaiming the town of Țiganca in Southern Bessarabia. Due to heavy Soviet counterattacks, the 4th Army's 3rd Corps was repulsed from the bridgehead that they had attempted to form across the Prut River. The 4th Army's 4th Corps was able to create a bridgehead north of the town however, and relieved the pressure on the 3rd Corps. General Ciupercă managed to secure the bridgehead, and the town itself hours after. The 4th Army would follow the retreating Soviet forces to the Dniester River, only fighting in minor engagements along the way.