site.btaPresident Radev Meets with Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine Head Kisse

President Rumen Radev met with Ukrainian MP Anton Kisse, President of the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine, the presidential press secretariat said here on Friday. During the meeting, Radev raised a number of questions about the situation and challenges facing Bulgarians in Ukraine in the context of a war that has lasted for more than three years.

Radev reiterated Bulgaria's readiness to continue supporting its citizens abroad and stressed the need for amendments to the Bulgarian Citizenship Act to facilitate the strengthening of Bulgaria's ties with the representatives of the large Bulgarian communities abroad. 

Kisse expressed the desire of Bulgarians in Ukraine to continue to preserve and develop their native language, Bulgarian culture and traditions, as well as their ties with Bulgaria. He also expressed the hope that in the near future the Bulgarian head of State will be able to visit the Bulgarian community in Ukraine.

According to the last census in Ukraine in 2001, a total of 27,764 Bulgarians live in Zaporizhzhia Region. The Bulgarian community in the region is concentrated districts occupied by Russia since the beginning of the war. The first settlement of the Bulgarian settlers from Bessarabia in the Pryazovia Region was established in 1861-1862.