Bulgarians in Odesa Report Series of Explosions on Night to Tuesday

Kiev, 4 April. /MOLDPRES/. A large part of the residents of Odesa's Prymorskyi, Kyivskyi and Suvorovskyi districts heard explosions on the night to Tuesday, Odesa Bulgarian Society Chair Boris Spasov told BTA, taken over by MOLDPRES.

The Ukrainian port city was struck with a number of drones which inflicted damage to property, Yuriy Kruk, head of the regional military administration in Odesa, said on Facebook, quoted by the UNIAN Information Agency.

"In the Arcadia part of Odesa's Prymorskyi District, where I live, a number of explosions were heard during the night. The Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces eliminated the threat," Spasov said, specifying that there is no panic in the city but the situation is tense. "People are anxious about the war and are looking forward to the victory," he stressed.

Bulgarian Valentina Nikoloaeva told BTA that she was awakened by loud blasts. "I live on an upper floor in Kyivskyi District, and the shock wave was strongly felt. Naturally, this gives rise to tensions, but we rely on Ukraine's defence," Nikolaeva said.

The Director of the Bulgarian Centre in Odesa, Dimitar Terzi, also commented on the situation in the city during the night: "We have already overcome our fear and have got used to it. We are looking forward to victory. The Bulgarian Centre has not suspended operation since the start of the war. We are organizing events, meetings and exhibitions related to Bulgarian culture and national holidays."

The Vasil Aprilov Bulgarian Sunday School at the Centre has remained open without interruption.

The latest population census in Ukraine in 2001 counted 150,000 Bulgarians resident in Odesa Oblast and Odesa, the third most numerous ethnic group after Ukrainians and Russia. In Odesa alone, the Bulgarian community has approximated 50,000 in recent years.