A Feeling Stronger Than War

Kramatorsk is lucky. The city is 16 km (10 miles) from the Russian army. Therefore, peaceful life continues here. The curfew is not in effect from 5 AM to 9 PM. 14 hours! This is enough time to live almost as before the war.

Making Money

My day starts at five in the morning because I have to be at my workplace at the kennel by six. The kennel is 6 km from my home. I cover this distance in half an hour using an old orange bicycle. I work 12 hours a day for two days in a row. Then I have two days off. My salary is ₴70 or $1.69 per hour. Almost $300 per month. This is the average salary for civilian professions in Kramatorsk. Half of the money goes for food for two people. The work is not difficult and there is time for journalism and gardening. That is why I continue to work at the kennel.

The kennel business is booming. While poor city dwellers abandon their animals to the mercy of fate, unable to care for them, rich residents spend a lot of money on their pets. Soldiers who come to fight or officials who go on vacation leave their animals in the kennel. The 16 rooms for dogs are almost always occupied.

"We have a lot of dogs in the kennel now," says owner Svetlana Eduardovna. "One dog has been living in the kennel for almost 3 years while his owner is fighting the Russians! An incredible story of a man's loyalty to his dog!"

Kramatorsk is full of incredible stories. The reason is war. It has changed everything.

Parking, cars and trips around the city

In the enemy drones' zone, car parking is not like what you are used to on your street. Proper parking in Kramatorsk is parking in the bushes, under a tree, in an abandoned barn or garage. The main thing is that the car is not visible from the sky.

The Russians are constantly monitoring the change in the number of cars on the streets. Therefore, the Ukrainian military must hide their cars from enemy drones. Some cars are not camouflaged. Usually, these are military pickups equipped with electronic warfare systems, which are turned on around the clock, making it difficult for drones to destroy them. But there is a side effect: Due to the electronic warfare systems, Wi-Fi may not work nearby or you cannot remotely turn on and off the alarm on your car.

When Ukrainian soldiers die in battles with the Russians, 10 miles from Kramatorsk, their cars are left standing in the bushes for a long time. Some bad locals try to make money on the cars of dead soldiers by dismantling them for spare parts in order to sell them on the illegal market. One enterprising local resident towed several cars to his yard for this purpose. A Russian reconnaissance drone saw the cluster of cars, and a missile flew into the yard of the criminal businessman. He survived, but was left disabled.

Any Ukrainian citizen can become a victim of Russian army shelling. Usually this happens when the civilian population is near some object where the Russians think the Ukrainian military is. Therefore, when traveling around the city, it is necessary to plan the route so as not to pass by schools, hospitals, office buildings, industrial enterprises, warehouses, large stores, bridges, fire stations, railway stations, gas stations, car service stations and other objects that can be used for military purposes. The Russians destroy such objects with weapons of terrible power.

School No. 23 in Kramatorsk turned into ruins after a missile attack by the Russian army July 21, 2022. The school had been closed for several months before the attack. There were no children there. The Russians apparently decided that Ukrainian military personnel were there. The destruction is so extensive that the building, built in 1961, cannot be restored. Several nearby single-family homes were also destroyed by the force of the explosion.

Therefore, it is better not to drive past such buildings. Safe routes are longer and more difficult, but it is worth it. Of course, you can plan routes only when you use your own transport. Public transport is more dangerous than your own personal transport, but everything in the city has its own level of danger.

Retail and Food

The larger and more popular the store, the higher the prices and the more dangerous it is to shop there. And here's why: Ukrainian military personnel have a lot of money. The salaries of military personnel in the combat zone reach $3,000 (₴120,000) and even more. Ukrainian military personnel like stores with a large selection of goods and make large purchases. That's why every supermarket has high prices and a lot of military personnel. And Russians like to shoot where there are a lot of Ukrainian military personnel.

In order not to risk their lives, local residents try to shop in small and little-known shops where Ukrainian military personnel rarely shop. There are fewer goods there, but the prices are lower. And most importantly, it is safe there.

Usually, such shops are located on the outskirts of the city. These are not special buildings. Very often, single-family homes are converted into shops. There are no lines of customers, poor lighting and a modest interior. But the shop assistants know the customers personally, so you can buy goods on credit there, and the prices are lower than in supermarkets. I myself very often buy goods in such shops. In these stores you can buy food at the following prices:

• Milk, 1 liter 0.26 gallons (1 liter), from $0.79 ( ₴33)
• Eggs, 10 count, from $1.30 (₴54)
• Chicken legs, 2.2 pounds (1 kg), from $1.69 (₴70)
• Potatoes, 1 kg, from $0.48 (₴20)
• Sugar, 1 kg, from $0.79 (₴33).

The cost of food is low, because salaries are low. You can always save money on buying food, you just need to cook this food yourself. Our family bakes bread and makes ice cream. From 1 kg of flour, we bake 2 loaves of bread. The cost of this bread is almost 3 times less than in the store. The garden also provides an opportunity to save a lot. We grow a lot of vegetables, fruits, and berries. A large refrigerator allows us to freeze this for the winter. Whether we will meet this winter in our home depends on the course of military operations.

The Situation in the City and in the Combat Zone

War is not only death. It is also a way of life. Since the first day of the war, Kramatorsk has been practically in the combat zone. Despite this, about 80,000 residents remain in the city, 4,832 of whom are children. They do not hide in shelters during the alerts for attacks by the Russian army, which are reported by sirens throughout the city. Dozens of such attacks occur every day and night. Therefore, it is impossible to hide. People have stopped being afraid of bombs and missiles. Residents of cities that are far from the battlefield hide in shelters from bombs and missiles. For them, this is a dangerous event. For residents of Kramatorsk, shooting is everyday life.

The city continues to live a strange life. We have a working maternity hospital. Yes, children are still born in Kramatorsk. The city has a working train station and trains from Kramatorsk go to different cities in Ukraine. The city administration is working. Public utilities take out garbage, repair roads and even install new water pipes.

Of course, there are some restrictions. Schools are closed and children study remotely. But basically, peaceful life continues in close proximity to the war. This life is enjoyed by people with strong nerves and a strong connection to the city. Such people make up about half of the pre-war population. We, strong Kramatorsk residents, do not want to leave our homes. All our property, our work, our memories and love are in Kramatorsk. This feeling is stronger than the threat of death or the tension of war.

The government constantly calls on us to leave the city, but is unable to provide us with a decent life outside of Kramatorsk. We can be evacuated for free. We can receive a small allowance, $48-$72 per month. This is not even enough for food, and you still have to rent a place to live. There are a lot of refugees. Rents in other areas of Ukraine are very high. The further the housing is from the battlefield, the more expensive the rent is. But salaries do not change like that and so evacuation for many people is worse than continuing to live in their own home near to the war.

We will remain in Kramatorsk until the city turns into a battlefield. We are monitoring the events using several sources of information. Every day the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army writes about the number of battles in different directions. This makes it possible to understand which city interests the Russians the most. In the "Kramatorsk direction" there are usually less than 10 battles a day. In other directions, for example, "Porkovsky" or "Kupyansky", 20-30 battles occur every day. This reassures us. This means that Kramatorsk is not the main target of the Russians. Not yet!

Usually, before the start of fighting in any of the settlements, local authorities make two significant decisions. First, a mandatory evacuation of families with children is announced. Such families are forcibly taken out by police and volunteers. Second, a long curfew is announced from 3 PM to 11 AM. Both decisions have not yet been made in Kramatorsk. This means that for now we can live a normal life and dream about the future.

"When the war ends, I will go to earn money somewhere in the north," says Sergey, my partner at the kennel. He has many construction skills and his experience will be in demand.

"My wife and I are planning to go on holiday to the sea. At least for a month," I answer him. My family wants to see happy people in a beautiful place, enjoy a peaceful life, rest and travel.

Sergey and I have different plans. But these different plans are united by one thing. There is no war in dreams. There is a peaceful life in dreams. The residents of Kramatorsk are tired of war and want peace. But for now, the war is going on.

It was 6 o'clock in the evening, and I went home from work, through the wounded but not dead Kramatorsk.