site.btaBessarabian Bulgarian Posthumously Awarded Order for Courage, Class III

Bessarabian Bulgarian Oleh Paskalov has been posthumously awarded the Order for Courage, Class III, by a decree from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The award was presented to Paskalov’s wife, Tatyana, according to the website of the Bolhrad District Military Administration.

The 46-year-old Bulgarian lived in the village of Veselyi Kut, Teplytsia municipality in Bolhrad District. He lost his life on September 29, 2023, after sustaining serious injuries during offensive operations near the village of Nevelske in Donetsk region.

Odesa Region is home to the third largest community of expatriate Bulgarians, numbering more than 150,000 people, according to an official population census in Ukraine in 2001. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Bulgarians live in the regional capital, Odesa. Bulgarians in the region are concentrated in the districts of Bolhrad, Izmail, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.