site.btaExplosions Heard in Odesa Province

Odesa Province was attacked by three manned aerial missiles on Friday. Explosions were heard in the southwestern Ukrainian province, in Chornomorsk and Zatoka according to preliminary data, local Telegram channels reported. An air raid alert was issued at 5:44 pm.

Odesa Province military administration head Oleh Kiper advised residents of the city of Odesa and Odesa Province to take shelter until the alert is lifted.

Odesa Province 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 provincial capital, Odesa. Bulgarians in the province are concentrated in the districts of Bolhrad, Izmail, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.