site.btalzmail Mayor Meets with Bulgarian Delegation Minutes after Third Air Raid Alert in Odesa Region Called Off

The Mayor of Izmail, Andrii Abramchenko, conferred with the Bulgarian delegation minutes after the third air raid alert for the day in Odesa region was called off. The meeting took place in the building of the City Hall and was attended by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Bulgaria's Consul General in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov, Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Executive Director Rayna Mandzhukova, the Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, Milen Mitev, the Chairman of the Council for Electronic Media, Gabriela Naplatanova, the Rector of Sofia University Prof. Georgi Valchev.

Addressing the meeting, Kiril Vachev described the 19th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which BTA is organizing.

"The meeting started on June 18 with a visit to the Bulgarian village of Zoria (Kamchik). On June 19, the 19th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media was opened in Odesa. Today the event continued in a hybrid format online and on-site in Bolhrad and Izmail. Tomorrow, on June 21, the meeting will conclude at the Izmail State Humanitarian University. The main idea is to show our sympathy and support to the Bulgarian community in Ukraine," said Kiril Valchev.

BTA's Director General presented the Mayor of Izmail with an honorary medal "125 years of BTA" and a commemorative stamp "125 years of the first news of BTA".

Mayor Abramchenko expressed his gratitude to the Bulgarian delegation for the event, which is organized in the Ukrainian city near the Danube. He thanked for the help the Bulgarian State has provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the war - accommodation and sheltering for thousands of Ukrainian refugees, as well as various other types of aid.

About 11% of the residents of Izmail are representatives of the Bulgarian community, according to the latest census, the Mayor stressed.  Andrii Abramchenko introduced the Bulgarians present at the meeting - Nikolay Ivanov - Chairman of the Izmail Municipality of St. Sofia, Georgy Chilik - Director of the Izmail Center for National Cultures.  

Abramchenko told the participants about life in his town during times of war.

"We are fighting the great aggression of Russia.  But our people do not surrender.   Representatives of different nationalities, including Bulgarians, are participating in the front and in the territorial defence. Many have been killed," the Mayor said.

"Given the current conditions of emergency power cuts, for which there is a schedule, the city is ready. During the blackout, the water in the city does not stop, which is very important," Abramchenko stressed.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Mayor Serhiy Luzanov, who said that the city authorities are supporting the institutions and cultural sites, where there are stations to provide help and assistance to the residents. These points have are autonomous heating, generators, internet connection, hot drinks (tea, coffee).

The Bulgarians in the region number over 150,000 and are the third largest community according to the official census in Ukraine from 2001. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.