Kurakhovo, a town in Pokrovsky district in eastern Ukraine, has been trapped in hostilities and is now surrounded on three sides by Russian troops. Three kilometers from it is the enemy, and in the city itself there are about a thousand inhabitants. Without water, light and heating, people survive in the basements of apartment buildings, hoping for the day when this horror will finally end.
The energy center that became the epicenter of the war
Kurakhovo is a city with a strong industrial heritage, an important energy hub for the whole Donbass, located on the left bank of the Kurakhiv reservoir. Kurakhiv TPP provided electricity to a large part of the region, becoming one of the largest thermal power plants in eastern Ukraine. By the start of the war in 2014, the city was developing, infrastructure and economy supported the viability of the region. However, with the start of hostilities, Kurakhove found itself in a zone of active confrontation, and the city began to suffer from artillery strikes and constant shelling.
The first years of the war: a test for the city
During the anti-terrorist operation in 2014—2015, Kurakhovo became an outpost that deterred militants and protected the energy stability of eastern Ukraine. Kurakhiv TPP, as a strategic object, was a strategic objective of the enemy. The shelling damaged residential buildings, schools, roads — the infrastructure that had shaped the city's life for decades began to collapse. Due to the danger, some of the inhabitants left the city, and those who remained adapted to life near the line of fire.
Full-scale invasion: a trap for the civilian population
Since February 2022, the situation in Kurakhove has deteriorated significantly. Constant air strikes and artillery shelling left only ruins of the former industrial center. On November 11, 2024, Russian troops blew up the dam of the Kurakhovsky reservoir, causing the water level in the Vovcha River to rise. This subversion was intended to delay the advance of Ukrainian forces and create additional difficulties for civilians who remained to live in the city. Coastal villages were affected, problems with water supply worsened, which made it difficult for local residents to survive.
Realities of the present and the humanitarian crisis
As of November 2024, Kurakhove is surrounded on three sides, turning into another Ukrainian city, which the Russians are trying to erase from the face of the earth. If it weren't for the war that began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022, this city might have developed and prospered, but now Kurakhove is a wasteland and a ruin. Daily shelling, conducted from positions a few kilometers from the center, devastates everything around. Destroyed hospitals, technical schools, schools, kindergartens, water treatment station, resettlement point, post office and house of culture — the infrastructure is practically destroyed.
Journalists almost do not come to Kurakhov anymore. Documentarian Anton Shtuka, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, managed to visit the city, see this critical situation firsthand and captured the realities of life in the front-line Kurakhov for the Associated Press. Today, the UAPF publishes a photo report from a city that is slowly disappearing.
Kurakhov through the eyes of Anton Stuka
“Kurakhove without exaggeration is the new Bakhmut,” says Anton Shtuka, describing the difficult situation in the city. It is hit daily by Russian forces: guided aerial bombs, barrel artillery, rocket salvo systems and FPV drones have become a daily threat to residents. “The threat to the surroundings of the Kurakhiv garrison and civilians is probably the greatest ever during the war,” Anton said.
There is only one store left in the city, where products are delivered only on an armored evacuation bus with radio protection. The only way to the city is the so-called “road of death”, which is under constant surveillance by enemy FPV drones.
“There are burned cars with the bodies of locals who tried to escape from the city on the road,” Anton adds. Although REBs help the evacuation crew, they only partially protect and cannot always be counted on to be effective.
“Burning houses, sounds of explosions and smoke are a familiar picture for Kurakhovy now,” Anton Shtuka shares his impressions. Even in such dangerous conditions, rescuers do not leave the city. “Vasily and Yevhen, members of the White Angel evacuation squad, are holding another day of evacuation, full of dangers. They stay in Kurakhovo even in critical conditions, spend the night in the basement of the local police station,” Anton says. However, a few days ago the department building was destroyed by a Russian air bomb. Fortunately, the White Angels were not affected.
Despite these circumstances, the White Angels' evacuation crew rescues between 6 and 12 locals every day, which remains an extremely dangerous task. “The worst thing is that there are still children in the city,” says Anton. Some parents try to hide their children not only from shelling, but also from the police to prevent their evacuation. However, rescuers sometimes convince parents, and then families leave the dangerous city.
Anton describes the scale of the destruction: “A hospital, a technical school, all schools, kindergartens, a water treatment station, a refugee station, a post office building and a house of culture were destroyed by air bombs.” According to him, enemy troops are located just three kilometers from the city center, where another 700 to 1,000 civilians remain.
“The threat of cutting the main logistics route is growing every day,” the photographer concludes. And he exhorts: “Pray for this place... remember that nine hours from you is March 2022. And Bucha was not two years ago, but is happening right now in the recently peaceful towns of our country.”
Anton Shtuka— Ukrainian director, documentarian, video and photojournalist. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he tells the international audience the stories of people who are related to the war and Ukrainian culture.
InstagramAnton Stuki.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vera Labych
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
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