Otaci (formerly Ataki, Russian Атаки) is a town (population 8,400) on the southwestern bank of the Dniester River, which at that point forms the northeastern border of Moldova.

On the opposite side of the Dniester lies the Ukrainian city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi, and the two municipalities are connected by a bridge over the river.

[3] In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Red Army entered Bessarabia and incorporated it into the Soviet Union.

One of the 2 tower blocks in the town collapsed shortly after it was evacuated, leaving no one injured.

It is believed that the building, when constructed in the 1970s, was built on muddy soil, and the foundations were damaged over the years.