President Radev to Kuleba: Bulgarians have Opened their Hearts and Homes to the Citizens of Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev today. It is the second day of his visit to Bulgaria and he has already held meetings with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and our Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska.

"Ukraine is connected with our country with centuries-old ties, I would like to congratulate you on the fact that Mr. Anton Kisse (Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Chairman of the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine) is part of your delegation. Bulgaria at the highest political level condemned the aggression of the Russian Federation against your country. We have stood firmly in defense of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we have been actively involved in all sanctions regimes, despite the social and economic consequences," said President Radev. "Bulgaria has opened its doors, Bulgarians have opened their hearts and homes to the citizens of Ukraine, we have provided protection to over 91,000 people. Our aim is not only to provide food and shelter, but also education, employment, and to the most affected - children, help not to feel traumatized by this war. We are fully prepared to continue the program that we started in 2014 and interrupted due to covid, for the treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicemen. I expect our 2 governments to restore this program. We are particularly concerned, we are monitoring the growing number of civilian casualties and the development of hostilities," Radev added.

He expressed hope that Ukraine is doing everything possible to protect the Bulgarian national minority. He called for an end to the fratricidal war as soon as possible and for an opportunity to be sought within the EU for a speedy recovery of...