The relentless advance of Russian forces into Ukraine’s Donetsk region has plunged its last strongholds into despair, with civilians enduring intensifying shelling, dwindling resources, and an uncertain future. Kostiantynivka, once home to 67,000, is now a near-uninhabitable shell, lacking steady power, water, or gas, as drones and shelling drive out remaining residents. In contrast, Kramatorsk, 25 kilometers north, retains faint signs of normalcy with open cafes and intact streets, despite a thinned population of 147,000 and frequent strikes.
The Donetsk region, once Ukraine’s industrial heart, is being reduced to rubble, with residents like Natalia Ivanova, a septuagenarian who fled Kostiantynivka after a missile strike, fearing total destruction. “The region has been trampled, torn apart, turned into dust,” Ivanova said, predicting further devastation under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign. Her two apartments—one destroyed, one damaged—symbolize the personal toll as she left her lifelong home behind.
Olena Voronkova, who relocated to Kramatorsk from Kostiantynivka in May, described the move as forced by circumstance after losing her businesses to war’s chaos. Her new cafe in Kramatorsk, mirroring her old one, serves as a haven for displaced locals sharing a collective loss. “People are losing hope,” she said, noting the city’s transformation into “another Bakhmut or Avdiivka” as Russian forces encroach.
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In Kramatorsk, 18-year-old Daria Horlova clings to daily routines despite the looming threat, just 21 kilometers from the front line. A nail artist and remote student, she grapples with the region’s occupation and the fear of sudden upheaval. Choosing to focus on the present, Horlova recently got a tattoo to mark her connection to Kramatorsk, saying, “You just have to do things as soon as you can.”
As Russian advances threaten key hubs like Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka, fears mount that Donetsk’s remaining cities face obliteration, leaving civilians to navigate an increasingly dire reality with no clear path forward.
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