RUSSIANS OCCUPY THE WHOLE OF BUKOVINA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16266, 27 June 1916, Page 7

RUSSIANS OCCUPY THE WHOLE OF BUKOVINA.

THOUSANDS OF FUGITIVES POURING INTO HUNGARY. AUSTRIANS ENDEAVOURING TO MINIMISE THEIR LOSSES. (Received June 26, 10.20 p.m.) PETROGRAD. JUNE 25. After fierce fighting, the Russians on Friday captured Kimpolung, in Bukovina, taking over 2000 prisoners. The latest success, together with the occupation of Kuty, places the whole of Bukovina in Russian hands. (Received June 26. 10.5 p.m.) LONDON. JUNE 25. Tens of thousands of fugitives from Bukovina are entering Hungary. Vienna despatches endeavour to minimise the importance of the Russian gains, declaring that General Pflanzer does not intend to offer a serious defence until he reaches the last ridge of the Carpathians, where formidable preparations are being made. The Austrian Duchy of Bukovina, which has an area of 4035 square miles, and a population of 814,000, is bounded on the east by the northern oorner of the Russian province of Bessarabia, on the south and east by the northern Roumanian province of Moldavia, on the west by the plains of Eastern Hungary and the district of Transylvania, and on the north by the Austrian province of Galicia. The district is —especially on its southern parts—by irregular mountain ranges, rising in places to a height of 6000 ft, and constituting a southern continuation of the Carpathian Mountains, which fringe almost the whole western border of Galicia. From these highlands there are five main passes leading to the west, namely, the Styrol, the Kirlibaba, the Rodna, the Dorna Vatra, and the Borgo Passes respectively. The Styrol and the Rodna are entered by way of the Kirlibaba, while the Dorna Vatra must be first crossed by any army using the Borgo Pass. Of the total area of Bukovina, 43.17 per cent, is covered by dense forests. The Dniester River, which flows from Galicia to Bessarabia, skirts the northeastern border of the duchy. The principal rivers flowing through the district are the Pruth and the Sereth with its affluents the Suczawa, the Moldava, and the Bistritza. Of the total population, 40 per cent, are Ruthenians, and a further 35 per cent. Roumanians. Commerce is mainly in the hands of the Jews and Armenians, whilst the official language and the language of the law courts is German. The most south-westerly portion of Galicia, known as the Pokucie district, adjoining Bukovina, has formed, together with the duchy, the scene of some of the most sanguinary fighting of the war. The Pokucie district is also bounded on the west by Transylvania, its main artery of communication running along the Pruth valley to Koloraea. The deep canyon of the Lower Dniester separates Pokucie from the more northern portions of Galicia. In the Bukovina-Pokucie sector there are two railway lines. One of them runs west to Kolomea, and then in a south-westerly direction across the Carpathians by way of the Jablonica Pass to Buda Pesth. The Luzany-Zaleszczyki-Czortko line runs from Bukovina to the Austrian district of Podolia, north of the Dniester. At the south-eastern end of the sector, the river valleys and roads all open into Roumania, and the population is mainly Roumanian by language and extraction. Kuty is a town on the border between Bukovina and Southern Galicia. It lies on the River Czeremosz, a right bank tributary of the River Pruth, 35 miles due west of Czernovitz. Kimpolung is a town in Southern Bukovina, on the River Suczawa, 50 miles south and west of Czernovitz.