The (
Ukrainian Дністер (''Dnister''),
Romanian ''Nistru'',
Russian Днестр (''Dnestr'') and during antiquity was called ''Tyras'' in
Latin ) is a river in
Eastern Europe . It rises in
Ukraine , near Drohobych close to the border with
Poland , and flows toward the
Black Sea . For a short while it marks the border of
Ukraine and
Moldova , after which it separates Moldova and
Transnistria for 398 km. It leaves this region and becomes the Moldova-Ukraine border again, then flows through Ukraine to the
Black Sea .
Before
World War II the Dniester formed part of the boundary between
Romania and the
Soviet Union . During the war battles were fought on the banks of the river between the German and Romanian invaders and the Soviet defenders.
