site.btaUPDATED Air Raid Alert in Odesa Region at Noon on Tuesday, Called Off Two Hours Later

An air raid alert was declared in Odesa Region shortly after noon on Tuesday. In a post on Telegram, the head of the Odesa Region military administration, Oleg Kiper, instructed people in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Region to remain in a safe place until the sirens are turned off. The alert was called off a couple of hours later.

The Ukrainian Navy said on Telegram that there are two hostile vessels in the Black Sea and two in the Mediterranean, including one missile vessel.

The Bulgarian community in Odesa Region is over 150,000-strong and is the third largest, according to the 2001 census.  Odesa alone is home to 50,000 to 60,000 Bulgarians. The majority of them are in the regions of Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Bulgarians make up 30% of the population in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Region.