Kharkiv region: Russian troops fire on evacuation convoy heading for Balakliia, victims

Kateryna Tyshchenko – Sunday, 3 April 2022, 20:08

Russian troops opened fire on a convoy that was heading to evacuate civilians from a destroyed hospital in the temporarily occupied city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region.

Source: Oleh Synehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, on the joint news broadcast

According to Synehubov: "In Balakliia, where a hospital was destroyed yesterday, doctors were trying to leave and evacuate other people. An evacuation convoy was agreed on, but it was not allowed into the city. Russian troops opened fire on it as it approached the checkpoint.

There are victims. According to preliminary information, the driver of one of the buses was killed."

Details: Synehubov also reported that fighting continues in the city of Izium, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding their positions.

A Russian SU-34 fighter jet was shot down in Izium and its pilot was taken prisoner.

According to the Regional Military Administration, nearly 5,000 civilians were evacuated from the village of Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region.

Evacuation began in the city of Lozova, which has a population of around 60,000 people. People will be able to leave using the railway, as well as their own cars.

"We are taking these steps thinking ahead. We are predicting how the situation will develop. These towns and villages may end up in the midst of combat action," Synehubov noted.

Background: Russian missiles hit a district hospital in the temporarily occupied city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region on Saturday, 2 April. Nearly 70 patients and medical staff were said to be in need of immediate evacuation.