How do people live in the immediate vicinity of the front line in eastern Ukraine and how do they feel about the prospect of peace talks? DW report from Kramatorsk and Slavyansk:
Kramatorsk and Slavyansk are the largest cities in the part of Donbas not occupied by Russia. Currently, about 100,000 people live there. Some roads have already been covered with nets to protect against drones, and the roads are mainly used by military vehicles. There, as well as neighboring Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka, they form the so-called “defensive belt” – agglomeration, which is considered the main line of defense of the Ukrainian army in the east.
Search for real estate near the front
Although in the fall of 2025, shelling increased in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, and since November, passenger train traffic was suspended due to the danger, dozens of cafes and shops are operating here, and the streets are lively. Real estate agent Vladislav Savchenko, whom DW met in Slavyansk, admits that the economy of cities near the front "holds on" mainly thanks to the military, for whom restaurants and shops operate. Many large industrial enterprises in the region have ceased their work.
Due to the fact that the military have to look for and rent housing themselves, high demand for real estate not far from the front remains. According to Vladislav Savchenko, housing is also actively being sold and bought. The agency she works for concluded 10 deals in October 2025, 8 in November, and by mid-December, 5 contracts had already been concluded.
Most of the sellers who turn to Vladislav are people who have decided to leave. Often, the selling prices are “tied” to the situation on the front: “It happens that a person wants to sell an apartment for 15 thousand dollars. He sees that the news is developing in a positive direction, that perhaps there will be some kind of peace agreement – and he understands that he will be able to sell this apartment for 25 thousand,” says Savchenko. At the same time, among the buyers, those who consider properties near the front as an investment and rely on renting it out prevail. There are also those who are looking for a new home after the fighting or have lost their homes due to the occupation, but want to stay in their native Donbass or do not have enough money for housing in other regions.
"I want the children to go to school, to have a job and to have Ukraine"
„When the peace talks started, we had a very „fun" week here – every day there was an attack somewhere”. This is how Savchenko answers the question about expectations from the peace talks, where the fate of his native Donbass is also being discussed. Vladislav is concerned about the conditions under which a future peace agreement could be concluded. “Some call Slavyansk “a city of separatism”, but I categorically disagree with that, because I know many people who do not support Russia”, says Vladislav.
“I don't want to be in Russia”, says Elena, whom DV met in the center of Kramatorsk. Her daughter has gone abroad, and she herself has stayed in the city with her minor son, her mother, her aunt and three cats. Elena describes her vision of the world this way: “I want the children to go to school, to have a job and to have Ukraine”. Nikolai, a man of retirement age, calls the negotiations “backstage games” and does not place much hope on them: “Putin will not sign anything... We need sanctions, weapons to resist”.
“A Ukrainian sun is rising in Donbas”
The center of Kramatorsk bears the traces of the war and there is almost no sign of the festive spirit expected at this time of year. However, on one of the quiet central streets, which is not disfigured by the destruction, the Christmas garlands of the new store “Zaboy” shine, where clothes are sold, but it also has a cafe. The store team - former fans of the Donetsk football team ”Shakhtar”, see the place more as an ideological than a business project. They are the authors of the famous slogan “The Ukrainian sun rises in Donbas”.
”We wanted to show the local population, all residents of Donbas, that at a time when Kramatorsk is being shelled every day by drones, ballistic missiles, etc., we believe that Donbas will be free”, explains founder Maxim Lysenko. “This is our homeland, which we are trying to develop and to which we devote almost all our time”, says Maxim.
Evacuation from Donetsk Oblast
At the same time, some residents of the border towns are unable to bear the constant shelling. The buses of the humanitarian mission "Proliska" are transporting people free of charge to the nearest station - Barvenkovo in the Kharkiv region. Evacuation trains depart from there to Lviv, Kiev and Kherson. "People are leaving who understand that it is better to leave while it is still possible," concludes the representative of the organization Yulia Shevchenko.
On the bus, we meet Lyudmila, who left Kramatorsk and moved to Lviv in 2022. She sometimes comes home for work and dreams of being able to stay. "It is good to be a guest, but it is better to be at home. But the situation does not allow it. Now it has become much worse," says the woman. Lyudmila is categorically against territorial concessions in favor of Russia and elections during wartime.
At the station in Slavyansk, where the bus stops to pick up passengers, Alexey sends his wife and daughter west to Ukraine, but he stays - to work and take care of the house. “We all need peace. I don't know how, but all this must end. How - it doesn't matter, the important thing is to end it.”