A loud explosion was reported in the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odessa at 07:52, Mayor Gennady Trukhanov announced via the Telegram app, BTA reports.
According to local Telegram channels, rockets are still flying in the direction of Odessa and the region. Local authorities are calling on all citizens to take shelter in bomb shelters.
Bulgarians in the Odessa region number over 150,000 people, and they are the third largest ethnic group in Ukraine according to the official census in 2001. About 50-60 thousand Bulgarians live in the city of Odessa itself. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolgrad, Izmail and Belgorod-Dniester regions.