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Life goes on in Kramatorsk, Sloviansk 3 years after war moves east (PHOTOS)

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People walk by the fountains in the center of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, some 540 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, on Aug. 14.
Photo by Volodymyr Petrov

KRAMATORSK, SLOVIANSK – The life in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two cities in Donetsk Oblast some 540 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, seems very similar to that in any other place in Ukraine: People stroll through the streets, relax near the fountains in the city center, go to the parks, cafes, and movie theaters.

Although the two neighbouring cities are located just 80 kilometers from the front lines of Russia’s war on Ukraine in the Donbas, people who the Kyiv Post journalists interviewed said they felt safe there.

There has been no fighting since July 2014, when the Ukrainian army liberated both cities from occupation by the Russian-led separatist militants. Since then, local authorities and international organizations partly repaired roads, reconstructed public parks and built new playgrounds.

One of the inconveniences brought by the war is the cafes and shops in both cities becoming more pricy after Kramatorsk became the new administrative center of Donetsk Oblast, replacing Donetsk that has been occupied by the Russian-separatist militants. The arriving of many employees of international organizations and internally displaced people influenced the growth of the prices, too. Today, the cost of the main course in the cities’ restaurants varies from Hr 90–230 ($3.50–8.90), meaning it is still cheaper than Kyiv and much cheaper than any Western city.

Story by Anna Yakutenko

Read more: Peace in 2 Donbas cities lets people rebuild lives