The wives of the Bulgarian sailors from the ship “Tsarevna” spoke to journalists in Varna.

“We heard each other at noon, the Donetsk police were fixing their documents, they said they had evacuated on their own. They were tired of waiting, 15 people packed their suitcases, got off the ship, found the Donetsk People's Republic soldiers in charge of the port and they asked to be evacuated with their help. There were no representatives of the Bulgarian military intelligence, they do not know who will take them from now on. Their personal phones have not been taken away. They have not been hijacked and no one has boarded the ship,” said Sevdalina Stoyanova.

“Several crew members disembarked from the ship, the soldiers of the Donetsk People's Republic told them: ‘We know your government doesn't like us but we have a duty to help you, we can't leave you here, we have to assist you.’ They organized everything and their first job was to photograph the crew members so that we, their relatives, could be see they are alive and well. So far, my husband has not shared information that they have contacted the Bulgarian state. He says they are constantly guarded. First with soldiers from the Donetsk army, then policemen. Some sort of organized group needs to be set up already. At the moment they do not have a permanent connection, they used the internet, which is in the hotel”, added Katerina Dimova.

According to her, they were given food, today they are accommodated in a hotel, the transport is also provided by the Donetsk army.

“They said that the hotel is very nice, they are calm now, the journey there was difficult,” said Sevdalina Stoyanova.

Representatives of the Donetsk army have apologized to the sailors for the inconvenience. “They were told: 'Sorry to involve you in this, but we have been very depressed for 8 years,’” said Katerina Dimova.

According to her, when the evacuation began, the army tried to contact the ship and offered others to evacuate, but they refused.

The wives added that the Bulgarian sailors are waiting for instructions from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and are currently able to move freely. They expressed hope that the sailors would find a way of constant communication.

Yesterday, 14 Bulgarian and one Ukrainian sailor were taken out of the ship, which was blocked at the port of Mariupol for 49 days. Today they are still in Ukraine, but in a safe place. The captain and five sailors remain on board.

The evacuated Bulgarian sailors from the ship "Tsarevna" are expected to return to the homeland by plane within two days. The owner of the company operating the ship declined to comment on the route the sailors will take, explaining that the information could endanger them. He added that the evacuees would be completely safe only when they left Ukraine.

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