Ukraine Says Tymoshenko Receiving Treatment In Kharkiv Hospital

Yulia Tymoshenko (center) with her daughter and husband in a district court in Kyiv last year

Ukraine's state penitentiary service says former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been sent for treatment for back pain to the Ukrainian Railways hospital in Kharkiv.

The prison service said in a statement that "Tymoshenko arrived at the Central Clinical Hospital [on April 20] evening."

The prison service also said that "after reviewing the conclusions of German doctors, Tymoshenko expressed a desire to begin treatment in the clinic that was proposed for her...in the city of Kharkiv."

No word was immediately available from Tymoshenko's lawyer.

Tymoshenko had previously refused treatment in the hospital until it had been cleared by a team of visiting German doctors who inspected her earlier this year.

The Ukrainian Health Ministry said on April 19 that the German doctors had no objections to the medical establishment.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and AFP