site.btaMassive Russian Drone Attack on Odesa Injures Five, Damages Residential Building and Infrastructure

The Ukrainian port city of Odesa was subjected to a massive Russian drone attack in the early hours on Thursday, said Oleg Kipper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration. "Despite the active actions of the air defence, there was damage to civilian infrastructure, in particular to residential buildings," he wrote on Telegram. It was later reported that the attack injured five people, including two children, all of whom were treated in hospital.

"All relevant services are working to eliminate the consequences of the attack. An operational headquarters is on the ground to provide assistance to the injured," Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram.

The attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea city began at 2:23 a.m. and lasted until 3:04 a.m. local time (also Bulgarian time).

The Bulgarian community in the Odesa region numbers over 150,000 people, making it the third-largest ethnic group in the area, according to Ukraine’s 2001 census. Within the city of Odessa itself, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 ethnic Bulgarians reside. The largest concentrations of Bulgarians are found in the Bolhrad, Izmail, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.