Ukraine

The Bulgarian-based website boyscoutmag.com put up an article with useful information on how ordinary citizens in Bulgaria can help refugees from Ukraine. The information below will be updated frequently.

Information for Bulgarians and Ukrainians Evacuating from Ukraine

Ukrainian citizens arrived in Isaccea on Romanian territory and were evacuated by ferry from Ukraine, reported BNR. At the Isakca-Orlivka border crossing, they were greeted by Romanians who offer free transport and shelter.

From Monday, the medics at UMHAT "St. Anna" -Sofia AD will examine free of charge all victims or injured people of the war in Ukraine, as well as people forced by military action to leave their native places. Ethnicity or religion is irrelevant. The examinations will be performed in all available offices, by highly qualified doctors with all specialties available in the hospital.

Russia is closing its airspace to airlines from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke by phone on Saturday morning with Greek Ambassador Frangiskos Kostelenos, who has been urgently dispatched to Mariupol in the Ukraine to support the Greek consulate remaining open there and Consul General in Odessa Dimitris Dochtsis.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu asked Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to end the military operation in Ukraine during a phone call on Feb. 26, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Ankara has repeatedly called the Russian invasion of Ukraine "unacceptable".

Nearly ten hoteliers have already expressed readiness to accommodate newcomers from Ukraine, with 2,000 beds currently available, Varna's new regional governor Blagomir Kotsev said today, welcoming the two buses to the first to be evacuated from Odessa. He clarified that the beds are not only in the city, but also in the resorts in the area.

Greece "will participate in efforts to support the Ukrainian people directly, with technical and humanitarian help toward Poland and other countries," Migration & Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi asserted in an interview to Skai TV on Saturday.

"In the coming days, fuel prices will rise due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is difficult to say how much the price increase will be and whether the petrol will reach BGN 3. But supply problems are not expected and there will be no shortage of fuel." This was stated on Nova TV by Svetoslav Benchev from the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association.

The Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association is ready to open some of the hotels in Sunny Beach for refugees from Ukraine. A proposal was also made by the Ministry of Tourism, BGNES reported. However, hoteliers make it a condition for the state to cover the costs of accommodating and feeding people, because hotels are currently closed and staffing is required.