site.btaUPDATED Loud Explosions Heard in Odesa, City Attacked with Missiles from Black Sea

Loud explosions were heard in Odesa as the city was attacked from the Black Sea, local channels reported on the Telegram app on Monday. Two missiles exploded around 1:30 p.m.

Regional authorities urged citizens to seek bomb shelters as the air raid alert continued.

Later in the day, Odesa Region Governor Oleh Kiper said on his Telegram channel that three people were killed and six were injured in the attack. Serhiy Lisak, head of the city’s military administration, also provided information on the casualties. According to his initial report, three people were injured.

"Two of the injured have been admitted to the hospital. Doctors assess the condition of one of them as serious and the other as moderately serious. Medical personnel are providing them with the necessary care,” Kiper said on Telegram.

Damage has been incurred to urban infrastructure facilities. All relevant services are working to address the consequences.

Bulgarians in the Odesa region number over 150,000 and were the third largest population group in Ukraine in 2001, according to the official census. About 50,000 - 60,000 Bulgarians live in the city of Odesa itself. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.