site.bta17 Men and Women from Bolgrad Died in War, Town Honours Them with Street Names

"Seventeen young men and women from Bolgrad have died on the front so far. A few days ago we also held an event to honor them. They are from the city as well as from the five villages included within the municipality," Zhana Suslina, Head of the Department of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports at the Bolgrad Municipal Council, said during a presentation of the new issue of BTA's LIK magazine titled "The Voice of Bulgarians in Ukraine". 

By a decision of the local parliament on February 23, streets in Bolgrad were renamed after the war heroes. So far, 16 have already been renamed, said Suslina. 

One of the rooms in the House of Culture has been made available for the distribution of humanitarian aid, she said. 

"We are grateful to all Bulgarians who have responded and supported us with donations in this difficult time," she stressed. 

"There are many stories in the magazine from young people who are volunteering, assisting and helping to ensure that we can continue to live peacefully again, the way we know how. Here we continue [observing the red-letter days on] our national calendar. On March 1, we celebrated the martenitsi tradition. On 3 March we celebrated the National Day of Bulgaria. Unfortunately, we are reducing the number of attendees and spreading out one event onto several locations so there's not a big crowd," she said. 

She said air raids in Bolgrad are not uncommon. 

She added that there is also a bomb shelter in the building where the new LIK issue was presented. "However, not all buildings have them," she said. On 3 March we celebrated the National Day of Bulgaria. Unfortunately, now the format is 50/50. We are reducing the number of attendees, breaking one event onto several locations. We're spreading people out so there's not a big crowd," she said. 

She said air raids in Bolgrad are not uncommon. 

She added that there is also a bomb shelter in the building where the LIK presentation took place. "However, not all buildings have them, her words made clear. 

Suslina said that over 600 families live in Bolgrad municipality after internal migration driven by the fighting. "It is for them that some of this humanitarian aid is distributed," she added.