site.btaOdesa Under Missile Attack, Loud Explosion Heard

A loud explosion was heard in the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa at 7:52 a.m., Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov reported on Telegram on Friday morning.

Missiles were fired towards Odesa and the Odesa region. Local authorities urged citizens to hide in bomb shelters.

Bulgarians in the Odesa region number more than 150,000 and were the third largest population group in Ukraine in 2001, according to the official census. About 50,000 - 60,000 Bulgarians live in the city of Odesa itself. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.