site.btaBulgarian Independence Day Marked in Kyiv

The Bulgarian Embassy in Kyiv commemorated Bulgaria’s Independence Day on Tuesday with a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Ukrainian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers who died for Bulgaria’s freedom during the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War.

The Embassy’s event coordinator, Evgeny Smushkov, told BTA that the monument was erected thanks to the efforts of a great friend of Bulgaria, recipient of the Order of the Madara Horseman, and longtime head of the Ukraine-Bulgaria Friendship Society, Yuriy Ivanovich Sedykh. “For 12 consecutive years, the monument has united friends and supporters of Bulgaria and Ukraine during official celebrations,” Smushkov said.

Elena Slatinska-Ovanezova, Charge d’Affaires at the Bulgarian Embassy in Ukraine, said in her welcoming remarks that the ties between Bulgaria and Ukraine, as well as their peoples, are a key reason why the two nations are so close and share a deep understanding of past and present historical events. “Just a month ago, Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day under the conditions of war against the Russian aggressor. In this context, I would like to reaffirm that Bulgaria supports Ukraine not only in its struggle for independence but also on its European path as a free state, as it has chosen,” she added.

The event was co-organized by the Ukraine-Bulgaria Friendship Society named after Sedykh and the Kyiv Bulgarian Cultural Society Rodolyubie named after Professor Ivan Stoyanov.