Liberated Balaklia: occupiers’ base and police torture chamber. Photo

The liberation of Balaklia is one of the key victories of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkiv region. One of the largest bases of the occupiers was located here. While liberating the city, the Ukrainian military destroyed it. The Rubryka reporter visited Balaklia and recorded the critical objects of the de-occupied city.

Auto depot and stolen equipment

The russians used the bus depot on the way out of Balaklia to base their military equipment and fuel. During the battles for the city, the Armed Forces of Ukraine delivered a decisive blow to this object. There was practically nothing alive left.

russians drove not only military equipment here but also stolen equipment of local residents and farmers.

There are also a lot of burned civilian buses at the base.

As the locals say, the russians refueled their equipment here. Their hideout was also here, where they kept kidnapped locals.

Calendar of captivity

The occupiers kidnapped at least twenty residents. The central place of detention was the police department located in the center of Balaklia. Here, for instance, is one of the cells where women were kept.

It's a men's cell. Although it is designed for two, the russian could put 8-9 people there. The russians not only kept the kidnapped people in inhumane conditions but also beat and tortured them.

It is known that prisoners spent several days to several weeks on these premises. Then some were released, and some could be sent to other occupied settlements.

People in prison kept a calendar: the counting started in May.

Tearing down russian propaganda

Balaklia is now free from the russian invaders. After liberating the city, Ukrainian defenders tore down a russian propaganda poster from a billboard—a video of this went around the world. Taras Shevchenko's lines were hidden under the lies of the occupiers. "Fight and win!" — now, the townspeople see these words again. Many settlements are still waiting for liberation. The Ukrainian people continue their struggle.