Pokuttya Pokuttya or Pokuttia ( , , ) is a historical area of East - Central Europe , between upper Prut and Cheremosh rivers , in modern Ukraine . Historically it was a culturally distinct area inhabited by Ukrainians and Romanians on the previously unpopulated borderlands between the lands of Lviv and Halych . Although the historical centre of the area was Kolomyia , the name itself is derived from the name of the town of Kuty and literally means " by Kuty " ( " Kut " by itself means " corner " ) . Presently , the region is inhabited by Ukrainians . History . Initially a part of Kievan Rus ' and one of its successor states , Halych - Volhynia , the area was occupied by the Kingdom of Poland in 1325 , and annexed in 1349 by Casimir III of Poland . Władysław II Jagiełło , needing financial support in his battles against the Teutonic Knights , used the region as a guarantee in a loan which he obtained from Petru I of Moldavia , who thus gained control of the region in 1388 . Petru I was eager at gaining influence in the internal politics of the Kingdom of Poland , supporting the cause of his long - time allies , Jagiellons of Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Pokuttia , therefore , became the feudal property of the princes of Moldavia , but remained within the Kingdom of Poland . As in other famous similar cases in middle age Europe ( such as Foix , or Dauphiné ) , the local feudal had to swear oath of allegiance to the king " for the specific territory " , even when the former was himself an independent ruler of another state . Depending on the political and military strength of each person , the king could ask for " allegiance " , omitting the words " for Pokuttia " , or could refrain from asking an oath altogether . Consequently , the region became a matter for judicial and military dispute between the two countries , because the debt had never been paid in full by Poland , and because Pokuttia was a more valuable asset than the money . In 1485 , Moldavian prince Stephen the Great , after losing in the previous year his country ' s exit to the Black Sea to the Ottomans , was in serious need of alliances , and swore allegiance to Casimir IV Jagiellon , King of Poland for Pokuttia , in what is known as the " Colomeea oath " . However , Casimir ' s successor John I Albert of Poland , used the treaty as a pretext to invade Moldavia itself in 1497 , but after four months of siege , failed to conquer the fortress of Suceava , Stephen ' s capital . Moreover , when abandoning the siege , his army ran into a trap , was decimated , and many nobles were killed . " See Battle of the Cosmin Forest . " After that , in 1498 , Pokuttia was conquered by Stephen the Great , annexed and retained by Moldavia until the Battle of Obertyn in 1531 , when it was recaptured by Poland ' s hetman Jan Tarnowski , who defeated Stephen ' s son Petru Rareş . Minor Polish - Moldavian clashes for Pokuttia continued for the next 15 years , until Petru Rareş ' s death . Following the Partitions of Poland of 1772 , Pokuttya fell under the Habsburg Monarchy . In the wake of the World War I and the fall of Austria - Hungary , it became disputed between Poland and a short - lived West Ukrainian People ' s Republic . However , during the Polish - Ukrainian War it was seized without fight by the Romania n army ( see : Romanian occupation of Pokuttya ) , and handed over to Polish authorities . After the Polish - Soviet War was concluded , it remained in Poland . In the effect of the 1939 invasion and partition of Poland between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union , the area was attached to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( falling to Nazi control after the start of Operation Barbarossa and until 1944 ) . It remains a part of modern Ukraine , incorporated into the western Ukrainian " oblast " of Ivano - Frankivsk , roughly corresponding to the southern half of the oblast . Throughout Middle Ages , Obertyn was Pokuttia ' s main castle , while Kolomyia was the region ' s main town and fair . Pokuttya ' s population still contains today some Romanian and Ukrainian Hutsul communities . At 2001 census here were recorded 600 Romanians and Moldovans .