Bomb explosions and rocket fire woke Ukraine early this morning. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s reaction was that Russia had launched "a full-scale invasion of Ukraine," and it's a "war of aggression." He declared that Ukraine will "defend itself and win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now."

"Only with the support of the EU and NATO we can get through this great tragedy that has befallen Ukraine," commented the chairman of the Bulgarian youth club "Active" in Ukraine Alexey Kutsarev. In a special interview for Radio Bulgaria he told about what is happening in one of the affected cities - Odessa.

I was planning to go to Kiev today, but in the morning I saw on the Internet that Putin has declared this war operation, the Bessarabian Bulgarian says. So far, I know of shelling of various targets in the country. Some 20 minutes ago a bomb fell on a factory in Odessa, but I don't know which factory it was. I see that there are also huge queues outside petrol stations, people are obviously fleeing the city looking for somewhere to hide."

Aleksey does not have the exact figures, but he estimates that some 100,000 Bulgarians are living in Odessa. He has not decided whether to leave the city, but he is sure that he will stay in Ukraine.

This is the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in the last 8 years. In 2014 Russia occupied and annexed Crimea. What is different today, we asked Aleksey?

"If Putin is not stopped, he will not stop here, Alexey Kutsarev is convinced. - The main difference now is that the people who live in Odessa and the other attacked areas had made their choice and they want to continue living within the borders of Ukraine. They want to live in a free country. They do not want to be part of grey areas where there is no prospect of a normal life."

Editing: Diana Tsankova, Elena Karkalanova