An IOM Bulgaria travelled to the city of Ruse and met with people fleeing the war in Ukraine. According to representatives of the local Ukrainian community the city hosts several hundred refugee families from Ukraine.

In the course of three days IOM Bulgaria's social workers managed to distribute food vouchers to families with children coming from the most affected regions and financial aid in the form of pre-paid cards to vulnerable individuals.

Furthermore, the IOM team gave out school supplies kits and drawing materials to children from Ukraine and purchased medicines for people with serious medical conditions and chronic diseases.

Many shared their desire to learn Bulgarian and expressed interest in IOM's free Bulgaria language courses for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

IOM Bulgaria would like to thank our colleagues from Caritas Ruse and the Bulgarian Red Cross in Ruse for their kind cooperation.

IOM Bulgaria's Ukraine Response activities are realised with the support of The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the U.S. Department of State, UK Aid Direct, funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.