site.btaVazrazhdane Party Leader Banned from Entering Ukraine for 10 Years

Ukraine has blacklisted and banned Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov from entering the country for the next 10 years, said Kostadinov himself at a press conference in BTA after his return to Sofia from Bolhrad, Ukraine.

Kostadinov was on a planned trip to Taraclia, Moldova, where he met with Bulgarian citizens, he said. He decided to go to Bolhrad to visit the monument to the Bulgarian revolutionaries and the Orthodox Church. He was accompanied by Ivan Paslar, chairman of the Taraclia regional council.

Kostadinov said he crossed the Moldovan-Ukrainian border without a problem, but soon found out he was wanted by authorities. ''We received word that they were looking for us and we decided to get in touch with the people immediately,'' he said. The military escorted him to the border checkpoint. There he was told that they had received information hat he was the chairman of a pro-Russian party. "This accusation is tantamount to the death penalty," Kostadinov stressed. He told the Ukrainians that this was not true, asking to know where they had received the information from. According to him, the answer was that Bulgarian intelligence had informed the Ukrainians.

Kostadinov believes his detention poses a risk to the people he met with. ''The betrayal of the Bulgarian state towards me affects many times more the Bulgarian citizens there'', he said, adding: "Since I came home, I have been looking for information on whether the people I met with are alive," Kostadinov said. He noted that he knew who had provided the information about him.

Kostadinov also said that his party is launching a campaign to raise humanitarian aid, which will be redirected to the Bulgarian community in Taraclia. He explained that the area is poor and lacks medicines, baby food, purees, diapers and flour, etc.