site.btaOdesa Comes Under Missile Attack, Powerful Explosions Rock City

Odesa came under a missile attack on Tuesday, with powerful explosions heard across the city, local Telegram channels reported. 

According to the reports, two missiles launched from the Black Sea exploded over the Ukrainian Black Sea port city at 1:24 p.m. local time. Air raid sirens went off a minute earlier. Regional authorities urged residents to take shelter.

Bulgarians in 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. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.