site.btaOdesa Comes under Heavy Missile Attack

Odesa came under a massive missile attack late on Saturday, with powerful explosions heard across the Ukrainian city of the Black Sea, according to local Telegram channels.

The missiles were reportedly launched from the Black Sea.

Regional authorities urged residents to take shelter in bomb shelters immediately.

An air raid alert was issued at 10:37 p.m. local time.

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.