“I have a look at footage of Vuhledar immediately, and I don’t acknowledge my metropolis. It was compact—you could possibly stroll from one finish to the opposite in 20 minutes. I knew each constructing there. However now, watching the movies, I can’t inform which road it’s, which home—simply piles of black-and-gray ruins as an alternative of a metropolis,” says Olena, a Vuhledar resident.
In 1989, she arrived in Vuhledar as a 10-year-old schoolgirl along with her mother and father. That very same yr, the settlement round two native coal mines gained metropolis standing. Olena grew up, obtained her schooling, married, had a son, labored—and alongside her, her metropolis took root and flourished.
“My little pearl,” Olena calls Vuhledar. She by no means wished to dwell anyplace else. Even when she couldn’t discover a job in her area as a marketer after ending faculty, she switched careers reasonably than depart town.
When Russia’s full-scale warfare started, she hoped the battered Vuhledar might nonetheless be rebuilt—however after Russian shelling, it’s not about rebuilding anymore. It must be constructed anew.
Her father, who commuted to Vuhledar from a neighboring mining city for work, obtained a three-room condo in 1989. For Olena, these 73 sq. meters in a brand new 10-story constructing felt downright luxurious. However outdoors the partitions of their new house, issues weren’t so cozy again then.
“My first impression of Vuhledar was that it was a bald metropolis—no timber. The previous half, with two- and five-story buildings, was inexperienced and lived-in, however the brand new neighborhoods had no timber, no bushes, no flowerbeds. There weren’t even benches with tables or playgrounds within the courtyards. The park was simply being began—they’d planted scrawny saplings proper earlier than we arrived. There have been no golf equipment, no sports activities faculty but. Town had one movie show, and tickets for any present have been arduous to come back by. Behind our constructing was a strip of woods with apricots and acacias the place the entire metropolis went for picnics, then a area past that. Previous the ponds and the Kashlahach River, there have been villages with farms,” Olena recollects.
Her warmest reminiscence of childhood Vuhledar is the remarkably clear air. The mines have been seven kilometers from town, so Vuhledar didn’t odor of coal mud—it smelled of steppe grasses and apricot blossoms.
“I nonetheless bear in mind the names of these mines—‘Pivdennodonbaska No. 1’ and ‘Pivdennodonbaska No. 3.’ The plan was for Vuhledar to ultimately have eight mines. However the brand new ones have been by no means constructed,” Olena says.
Signed up as a Ukrainian
Olena had barely settled into Vuhledar when 1991 arrived. Her father stopped getting paid, and her mom’s incapacity pension was delayed. Fellow residents began consuming extra; medication turned commonplace. In the meantime, many Vuhledar residents needed to resolve what Ukraine, now an impartial state, meant to them.
Olena says Vuhledar was closely Russified earlier than Ukraine’s independence. All three metropolis faculties have been Russian-language, with only a few hours of Ukrainian. You may skip finding out it—some children did, particularly these whose mother and father had come from Russia.
Kids from close by villages, who spoke Ukrainian at house, switched to Russian within the metropolis faculties. Ukrainians exiled to Kazakhstan beneath Stalin from western Ukraine, later allowed to work in Donetsk mines, spoke Russian too.
Olena’s father hailed from Poltava Oblast, whereas her mom was from a village in Russia’s Rostov Oblast close to the Ukrainian border. That village spoke Ukrainian or a Ukrainian-Russian combine known as surzhyk, however Olena’s household spoke Russian.
“After August 1991, the temper within the metropolis was pro-Russian. Individuals thought issues have been higher in Russia than Ukraine, that one ought to go there for work. Lots of people left for Russia completely. For my mother and father, all these occasions have been an enormous shock. However once I obtained my Ukrainian passport in 1995, I adopted my mother’s recommendation and listed my nationality as ‘Ukrainian.’ Mother was listed as Russian in her passport, and pa as Ukrainian. She informed me, ‘You have been born in Ukraine, you reside in Ukraine, so take delight in being Ukrainian.’
Once I enrolled on the Donetsk Commerce Institute, I joined a Ukrainian-language group as a result of I knew Ukrainian would ultimately matter to everybody,” Olena says.
The warfare stopped on the doorstep
By the early 2000s, Vuhledar clawed its manner out of melancholy. The mines have been working, miners earned good wages and pensions, and a few began companies. Alongside the mines, a dairy plant opened, then a bakery and a fish processing store. Fashionable shops with high-quality items popped up within the metropolis. Loads of cafes, a Tradition and Leisure Heart, a stadium, a pool, a nightclub common even with Donetsk residents. For teenagers—golf equipment, sports activities sections, a music faculty, a theater studio. On holidays, particularly Miners’ Day, performers got here from Kyiv and overseas. The festivals have been one thing else!
“Individuals constructed comfortable cottages, did costly renovations, took out mortgages—everybody might afford it, and you could possibly repay a mortgage in about 5 years. My husband and I obtained married in 2005—he labored on the mine, I labored at a restaurant. We earned effectively, purchased an condo on credit score in my mother and father’ constructing. Town was thriving. Vuhledar people lived so effectively that—consider it or not—they’d even name a taxi to go to the subsequent entrance over!”
That’s how affluent and promising Vuhledar was when spring 2014 rolled round. Donetsk, the place rallies have been boiling over, was only a 40-minute minibus trip away.
“I went to a type of rallies in April 2014, to see what was taking place. Individuals round me have been yelling, ‘Russia, come!’ It scared me—I noticed these have been thugs. My husband went as soon as too—he was horrified. We each knew we didn’t need Russia coming, didn’t need what was taking place in Donetsk.
In Could 2014, somebody organized a referendum in Vuhledar—to acknowledge the ‘DPR’ authorities. I used to be there—it occurred on the Tradition and Leisure Heart. Poll bins stood within the lobby, with massive traces. I voted in opposition to it. Then Donetsk and Russian TV claimed 98% of Vuhledar voted for it. However in some way, pro-Ukrainian authorities held on in Vuhledar,” Olena recollects immediately.
She says a army administration was shortly arrange—Vuhledar turned a front-line city.
“Anxiousness and concern have been day by day. It’s a straight street to Maryinka—28 kilometers. In the summertime of 2014, Maryinka confronted heavy shelling, and folks fled to Vuhledar beneath hearth. As soon as, Vuhledar obtained shelled too—a spherical practically hit a construction ventilating the underground mine amenities.
Consistently, terrible information. Like ‘DPR’ fighters taking pictures Ukrainian troopers in close by Blahodatne. Conflict was proper there. Refugees from occupied territories confirmed up in Vuhledar, some locals tried to go away, others waited for the Russians—it was shaky. However by mid-2015, issues calmed down a bit. We believed ‘DPR’ wouldn’t come right here.”
Help the Armed Forces of Ukraine? Boycott!
However warning bells saved ringing.
… In 2014, Olena’s good friend went to a males’s monastery within the close by village of Mykilske for a service—and heard discuss of “Ukrainian filth” and assist for Russian troops.
Or this: The proprietor of a Vuhledar restaurant began cooking meals for Ukrainian troopers in 2014—some employees give up reasonably than feed “Ukrops.” Different Vuhledar people backed them, avoiding the place.
“I don’t know the way that girl saved her enterprise going. She was at all times pro-Ukraine. Her son and husband each fought in Ukraine’s Armed Forces—each died,” Olena sighs.
From 2015 to 2022, Ukraine labored to shore up its maintain on Vuhledar. Investments flowed into the native economic system and neighborhood—new roads, squares, parks, playgrounds obtained constructed, international companions held trainings and seminars for native entrepreneurs. Proper subsequent to the occupied chunk of Donetsk Oblast beneath “DPR,” Vuhledar people have been constructing new houses.
“These years, Ukrainian tradition obtained an enormous push in Vuhledar. Town saved holding mass cultural and patriotic occasions that actually introduced individuals collectively. Ukrainian music contests, parades on Vyshyvanka Day, live shows—they seized each likelihood to make Vuhledar people really feel a part of Ukraine.
We obtained a Ukrainian church too—providers have been in a room at a staff’ dormitory, however we might bless Easter baskets there, come for Christmas, different holidays. They didn’t handle to construct a full church by 2022, sadly. I feel these cultural occasions helped individuals begin accepting the Ukrainian language and their belonging to Ukraine,” Olena recollects.
She says in 2014, only a few Vuhledar residents joined the Anti-Terrorist Operation—only a handful. Olena’s husband didn’t. He labored on the mine, saying he’d enlist if warfare broke out. He mobilized in Could 2022.
“When the full-scale warfare began, I didn’t count on so many Vuhledar guys to hitch the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Now, by my rely, 15 Vuhledar males have died on the entrance,” Olena says, taking a tragic breath.
A metropolis of shelling and eerie silence
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Olena noticed Russian rockets flying towards town hospital from her condo window—simply 600 meters from her constructing.
“We’d been a front-line metropolis since 2014, however Vuhledar had no correct shelters. Individuals hid in basements. I ended going to basements—after a rocket hit one, I noticed they weren’t protected. If it collapses, nobody’s digging you out.”
… Olena will get anxious speaking concerning the massive warfare hitting city. Her recollections flare up like searing flashes.
“Late February, my good friend and I went to metropolis corridor to supply assist. Our mayor vanished—hadn’t been seen for possibly a month. His deputy requested us to determine how a lot meals the Vuhledar neighborhood wanted. I don’t recall how many individuals we have been counting.”
“The hospital wasn’t working. Our troops moved into the constructing straight away. No docs stayed—that they had left in February. Wounded lay on the road, coated with blankets, sheets—that’s it. No medicines, pharmacies shut down in two or three days. A painful reminiscence: a wounded particular person on the asphalt, so many individuals round, and nobody can assist as a result of they don’t know the way, they usually’re bleeding out. I nonetheless haven’t discovered first assist.”
“We discovered mummified our bodies in basements and residences—lonely aged Vuhledar residents. A number of previous individuals died then. The cemetery’s removed from city, fixed shelling—in order that they buried individuals first close to the Protestant church, then simply in courtyards—wrapped in a black bag or rug and buried.”
“No electrical energy. I’d cost my telephone at a generator in a ironmongery store. Mills ran in different outlets, some workplaces, till they closed. We’d catch a sign on the tenth flooring of our constructing—that’s the place it labored.”
“First few days, I nonetheless noticed police vehicles on the streets. Then they disappeared. After shelling, numerous shops obtained wrecked—looters confirmed up. Fires have been put out solely at first as there was no water within the metropolis. Water provide stopped on February 15 for some technical purpose, however nobody fastened it. Troopers and volunteers introduced water; we’d run for it beneath shelling. You’d wash your hair, then your garments in that water, then use it for the bathroom.”
“Meals shares ran out quick, shops all closed, volunteers handed out some stuff, touring retailers bought issues at tripled costs, if no more. Farms close to the mines had dairy—they’d carry milk to city, give it out free so it wouldn’t spoil. After Russians hit the farms, cows wandered the fields previous the woods—I don’t know the place they went after. I obtained fortunate—a good friend left me keys to her cafe with a 500-liter water tank and tons of meals—fish, meat, oil. I shared with mates, made preserves from purple fish and meat to last more.”
“I feel that by round March 12, 2022, town had no energy, no heating, no sign. And that’s when our administration left.”
“Shelling was relentless. At first, I assumed it was random, then realized it wasn’t. Russians intentionally focused objects preserving town alive—hospital, submit workplace, shops, spots giving out assist. I do know Vuhledar residents who have been satisfied it was our Ukrainian Armed Forces firing.”
“Terrible rumors unfold: a couple of individuals killed there, a household useless right here, a child’s arm blown off there. My son—he was 15—I wouldn’t let him out of my sight. Vuhledar was crumbling earlier than our eyes. Complete constructing entry sections have been collapsing.”
“At evening, Russians didn’t shoot. I’d look out from the balcony—useless silence and pitch darkness. Candles flickering in a couple of home windows, flashlight beams. Vacancy.”
The enjoyment of the awaiters
In April 2022, Olena and her husband began speaking about leaving. Her mother didn’t need to go—how might she abandon her husband’s grave? He’d died in 2009. However after one other shelling, when the household lay on the ground in terror as blasts roared, she agreed. It was April 7. That morning, Olena noticed a kilometers-long column of Russian gear heading towards the close by village of Pavlivka.
“I informed Mother we’d be again in a couple of weeks. I used to be pondering two or three months. However our house one final time, I felt I’d by no means see it once more. And I used to be proper—per week later, it took a direct Russian hit,” Olena says.
Her husband obtained her late father’s previous Slavuta automobile working—it’d been parked within the storage for years. They left in a rush, didn’t cease on the cemetery to say goodbye to her dad, although the street out passes it. Later, in a Telegram video, Olena noticed the tidy cemetery was scattered graves, toppled headstones, overgrown weeds…
She doesn’t know what number of stayed within the metropolis once they left. Many Vuhledar residents had moved to basements, and nobody counted them.
“Most individuals left throughout 2022. Those that stayed—I can’t think about how they survived winter with no meals, water, or warmth. I do know in 2023, volunteers reached town a few times per week with meals, stoves, firewood. However in 2024, they solely obtained by a couple of occasions. Brigade guys defending town helped individuals,” Olena says.
Russians captured Vuhledar solely on October 1, 2024—ten and a half years after making an attempt to tear it from Ukraine with that referendum.
“In October, Russians unfold movies of Vuhledar residents greeting their troops. Arduous to rely—possibly simply over 100. The awaiters who’d waited out. Amongst them was a girl who’d run our metropolis faculty earlier than the warfare, styled herself a neighborhood determine. She waited for Russians along with her husband. Guys from the 72nd Brigade mentioned Vuhledar awaiters have been feeding Russians information on our metropolis items earlier than they even rolled in,” Olena notes bitterly.
Keys to doorways that do not exist
Volunteers and 72nd Brigade fighters posted pictures and movies on-line of Vuhledar nonetheless resisting.
In Dnipro, the place Olena obtained IDP standing, she devoured these clips: “I watched my metropolis get destroyed and die little by little. At first, I’d mentally be aware, ‘This may very well be fastened, that restored.’ Then it wasn’t simply wrecked houses—their partitions regarded like a web, an online about to snap.”
In Vuhledar, Olena liked Shakhtarskyi Boulevard and its summer season stage, the place all town’s holidays and festivals occurred. And the Tradition and Leisure Heart—velvet curtains, seats, dear gear, superb live shows for 30 hryvnias. She liked the marble miners’ memorial stele and the street to it. All that’s left of it’s gray-black ruins now. Like her house. Now she even misses the slender, murky Kashlahach River nobody ever swam in…
“We left in such a panic we didn’t take even fundamental clothes. Every thing stayed in Mother’s and my residences. All misplaced endlessly. You ask what my coronary heart aches for many. Household keepsakes. Pictures of Mother and Dad, my wedding ceremony album. A yellowed land deed from my grandma in Khorol County, a 1914 coin from her too. My son’s first tooth.
I requested my good friend’s husband, who defended Vuhledar, to carry me pictures—gave him keys to Mother’s and my locations. He died. Nearly a yr later, his buddies gave her his stuff—and a miracle: my keys have been there. Although there are not any doorways left to unlock,” Olena says.
She doesn’t assume the keys trace at a return to Vuhledar. Nobody’s pumped water from the mines—they’re flooded. Specialists she trusts informed her it might flip right into a swamp, with sinkholes. Town lived off these mines.
“The Vuhledar administration, now in Dnipro, says town will certainly be rebuilt. However are you able to say something for certain now? Nonetheless, how I want this nightmare would finish.”
… Perhaps this spring received’t be as chilly as 2022’s, when thermometers hit minus 11. Perhaps the surviving apricots within the surviving woodstrips round Vuhledar will bloom early. And who is aware of—possibly town will sprout new parks, rise with new homes. And be ours once more.
