site.btaBessarabian Bulgarian from Ukraine’s Odesa Region Killed In Action

Bessarabian Bulgarian Petar Cheban from Ukraine's Odesa Region has been killed in action on November 22, Bolhrad District's Bessarabske Municipality said on its official Facebook page on Wednesday.

The fallen soldier was from the village of Pidhirne, which is part of the neighbouring Budzhak Municipality in the Bolhrad district.

“The funeral will take place tomorrow. We call on the residents of the Bessarabske and Budzhak settlements to join in the farewell ceremony for the fallen hero from our region and to pay our respects,” stated the announcements from the Bessarabske and Budzhak municipalities.

The Bessarabske and Budzhak municipalities in the Bolhrad district were established in 2020 as a result of administrative-territorial reform.

The Bessarabske Municipality includes five large Bulgarian villages: Rivne, Vynohradivka, Yarove, Vilne, and Petrivsk. In total, the municipality has 12 local councils, with a population of 21,373 people as of 2023, nearly 60% of whom are Bulgarians.

The Budzhak Municipality includes 10 local councils, four of which have Bulgarian populations. These are the villages of Yevhenivka, Petrivsk II, Bogdanovca, and Budzhak. The total population is 16,112, with nearly 40% of them being Bulgarians.