site.btaFive Injured, Including Child, in New Russian Drone Attack on Odesa

Five people, including a child, were injured in a massive Russian nighttime drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa, reported the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper.

Damage was inflicted on a civilian facility, he added on his channel on Telegram.

"As a result of the nighttime strikes, a house was partially destroyed, and additional homes in the residential part of the city were damaged. A gas station and an administrative building were also hit. Several cars were destroyed and trucks were damaged," Kiper’s report stated.

Loud explosions are echoing in the Ukrainian city of Odesa Friday morning as well. For now, there is no new information about casualties or damage. The city is being attacked with unmanned aerial vehicles by Russian forces from the waters of the Black Sea, Kiper specified.

Air-raid sirens were activated at 7:46 am local time (also Bulgarian time). Local authorities are urging residents to take shelter in bomb shelters, and the relevant services are working to neutralize the consequences.

Bulgarians in the Odesa region number more than 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.