UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Aug 2 — The Relief Coordination Center has evacuated 4,433 people since the start of the Russian offensive in the northern Kharkiv region on May 10 through the transit evacuation point, the Relief Coordination Center reported.

Towns and villages of the Kharkiv Oblast come under massive Russian artillery shelling and air strikes often, even more so since Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the region in the Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions in May.

Of the 4,433 people, 931 are people with disabilities and 443 are children. 4,709 people left on their own. The largest evacuations were from the Vovchansk and Lyptsi communities.

“People sometimes came to the transit point barefoot, in their bathrobes, in a terrible emotional state. In other words, they came in what they had on, leaving behind everything they had acquired and built. Once again I urge everyone still hesitating to evacuate,” said Yevhen Koliada, Head of the Relief Coordination Center.

As of July 24, there are 50 temporary accommodation facilities in Kharkiv and the region, where 1,297 people were accommodated during the mass evacuation. And 52 volunteer organizations are involved in the evacuation process.

UPD from August 2, 2:55 p.m. added clarifying information in the first paragraph

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  • In a double-tap attack on the Kholodnohirskyi district of Kharkiv, Russia used cluster Iskander munition for the second strike, reported Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of Kharkiv region police, on July 24.