Kurakhove, a town in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine, is trapped in the fighting and is now surrounded on three sides by Russian troops. The enemy is three kilometers away, and about a thousand residents remain in the town. Without water, electricity and heating, people are surviving in the basements of apartment buildings, hoping for the day when this horror will finally end.
Kurakhove is a city with a strong industrial heritage, an important energy hub for the entire Donbas, located on the left bank of the Kurakhove Reservoir. The Kurakhovo TPP provided electricity to a large part of the region, becoming one of the largest thermal power plants in eastern Ukraine. Before the outbreak of war in 2014, the town was developing, with infrastructure and economy supporting the region's viability. However, with the outbreak of hostilities, Kurakhove found itself in an active conflict zone, and the town began to suffer from artillery strikes and constant shelling.
During the anti-terrorist operation in 2014-2015, Kurakhove turned into an outpost that deterred militants and protected the energy stability of eastern Ukraine. As a strategic facility, Kurakhove TPP was a strategic target of the enemy. The shelling damaged residential buildings, schools, and roads - the infrastructure that had shaped the town's life for decades began to collapse. Due to the danger, some residents left the city, and those who remained adapted to living near the line of fire.
Since February 2022, the situation in Kurakhove has deteriorated significantly. Constant air strikes and artillery shelling have left the former industrial center in ruins. On November 11, 2024, Russian troops blew up the dam of the Kurakhove reservoir, causing the water level in the Vovcha River to rise. This explosion was aimed at delaying the advance of Ukrainian forces and creating additional difficulties for civilians who remained in the city. Coastal villages were affected, and water supply problems worsened, making it difficult for local residents to survive.
As of November 2024, Kurakhove is surrounded on three sides and is turning into another Ukrainian town that the Russians are trying to wipe off the map. If not for the war that began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022, this town could have developed and prospered, but now Kurakhove is a wasteland and a ruin. Daily shelling from positions a few kilometers from the center devastates everything around it. The hospital, technical school, schools, kindergartens, water treatment plant, IDP center, post office and community center have been destroyed - the infrastructure is almost gone.
Journalists hardly ever visit Kurakhove anymore. Anton Shtuka, a documentary photographer and member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, managed to visit the town, see this critical situation with his own eyes, and documented the realities of life in frontline Kurakhove for the Associated Press. Today UAPF publishes a photo report from the town that is slowly disappearing.
“Kurakhove is, without exaggeration, a new Bakhmut,” says Anton Shtuka, describing the difficult situation in the town. The town is being attacked daily by Russian troops: guided aerial bombs, cannon artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and FPV drones have become a daily threat to residents. “The threat of encirclement of the Kurakhove garrison and civilians is probably the greatest in the entire war,” Anton said.
There is only one store left in the town, where groceries are delivered only by an armored evacuation bus with electronic protection. The only way to the city is the so-called “road of death”, which is under constant surveillance by enemy FPV drones.
“On both sides of the road are burnt cars with the bodies of locals who tried to escape the city,” Anton adds. While the EW equipment helps the evacuation crew, it only provides partial protection and cannot always be relied upon to be effective.
“Burning houses, the sound of explosions and smoke are a common sight in Kurakhove now,” Anton Shtuka shares his impressions. Even in such dangerous conditions, rescuers do not leave the city. “Vasyl and Yevhen, members of the White Angel evacuation team, are going through another day of evacuation full of dangers. They stay in Kurakhove even in critical conditions, spending the night in the basement of the local police station,” says Anton. However, a few days ago, the police station building was destroyed by a Russian air strike. Fortunately, the White Angels were not injured.
Despite these circumstances, the White Angels evacuation crew rescues 6 to 12 local residents every day, which remains an extremely dangerous task. “The worst thing is that there are still children in the city,” says Anton. Some parents are trying to hide their children not only from the 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 extent of the destruction: “The hospital, the technical school, all schools, kindergartens, the water treatment plant, the IDP center, the post office building and the cultural center were destroyed by air bombs.” According to him, the enemy troops are located just three kilometers from the city center, where 700 to 1,000 civilians remain.
“The threat of cutting the main logistics route is growing every day,” the photographer summarizes. “And he urges: 'Pray for this place... remember that March 2022 is nine hours away. And Bucha was not two years ago, but is happening right now in the recently peaceful towns of our country.”
Anton Shtuka is a Ukrainian filmmaker, documentary filmmaker, video and photo journalist. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has been telling the stories of people involved in the war and Ukrainian culture to an international audience.
Anton Shtuka's Instagram.
The material was created by:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Editor-in-chief: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
Website manager: Vladyslav Kukhar
Kurakhove, a town in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine, is trapped in the fighting and is now surrounded on three sides by Russian troops. The enemy is three kilometers away, and about a thousand residents remain in the town. Without water, electricity and heating, people are surviving in the basements of apartment buildings, hoping for the day when this horror will finally end.
Kurakhove is a city with a strong industrial heritage, an important energy hub for the entire Donbas, located on the left bank of the Kurakhove Reservoir. The Kurakhovo TPP provided electricity to a large part of the region, becoming one of the largest thermal power plants in eastern Ukraine. Before the outbreak of war in 2014, the town was developing, with infrastructure and economy supporting the region's viability. However, with the outbreak of hostilities, Kurakhove found itself in an active conflict zone, and the town began to suffer from artillery strikes and constant shelling.
During the anti-terrorist operation in 2014-2015, Kurakhove turned into an outpost that deterred militants and protected the energy stability of eastern Ukraine. As a strategic facility, Kurakhove TPP was a strategic target of the enemy. The shelling damaged residential buildings, schools, and roads - the infrastructure that had shaped the town's life for decades began to collapse. Due to the danger, some residents left the city, and those who remained adapted to living near the line of fire.
Since February 2022, the situation in Kurakhove has deteriorated significantly. Constant air strikes and artillery shelling have left the former industrial center in ruins. On November 11, 2024, Russian troops blew up the dam of the Kurakhove reservoir, causing the water level in the Vovcha River to rise. This explosion was aimed at delaying the advance of Ukrainian forces and creating additional difficulties for civilians who remained in the city. Coastal villages were affected, and water supply problems worsened, making it difficult for local residents to survive.
As of November 2024, Kurakhove is surrounded on three sides and is turning into another Ukrainian town that the Russians are trying to wipe off the map. If not for the war that began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022, this town could have developed and prospered, but now Kurakhove is a wasteland and a ruin. Daily shelling from positions a few kilometers from the center devastates everything around it. The hospital, technical school, schools, kindergartens, water treatment plant, IDP center, post office and community center have been destroyed - the infrastructure is almost gone.
Journalists hardly ever visit Kurakhove anymore. Anton Shtuka, a documentary photographer and member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, managed to visit the town, see this critical situation with his own eyes, and documented the realities of life in frontline Kurakhove for the Associated Press. Today UAPF publishes a photo report from the town that is slowly disappearing.
“Kurakhove is, without exaggeration, a new Bakhmut,” says Anton Shtuka, describing the difficult situation in the town. The town is being attacked daily by Russian troops: guided aerial bombs, cannon artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and FPV drones have become a daily threat to residents. “The threat of encirclement of the Kurakhove garrison and civilians is probably the greatest in the entire war,” Anton said.
There is only one store left in the town, where groceries are delivered only by an armored evacuation bus with electronic protection. The only way to the city is the so-called “road of death”, which is under constant surveillance by enemy FPV drones.
“On both sides of the road are burnt cars with the bodies of locals who tried to escape the city,” Anton adds. While the EW equipment helps the evacuation crew, it only provides partial protection and cannot always be relied upon to be effective.
“Burning houses, the sound of explosions and smoke are a common sight in Kurakhove now,” Anton Shtuka shares his impressions. Even in such dangerous conditions, rescuers do not leave the city. “Vasyl and Yevhen, members of the White Angel evacuation team, are going through another day of evacuation full of dangers. They stay in Kurakhove even in critical conditions, spending the night in the basement of the local police station,” says Anton. However, a few days ago, the police station building was destroyed by a Russian air strike. Fortunately, the White Angels were not injured.
Despite these circumstances, the White Angels evacuation crew rescues 6 to 12 local residents every day, which remains an extremely dangerous task. “The worst thing is that there are still children in the city,” says Anton. Some parents are trying to hide their children not only from the 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 extent of the destruction: “The hospital, the technical school, all schools, kindergartens, the water treatment plant, the IDP center, the post office building and the cultural center were destroyed by air bombs.” According to him, the enemy troops are located just three kilometers from the city center, where 700 to 1,000 civilians remain.
“The threat of cutting the main logistics route is growing every day,” the photographer summarizes. “And he urges: 'Pray for this place... remember that March 2022 is nine hours away. And Bucha was not two years ago, but is happening right now in the recently peaceful towns of our country.”
Anton Shtuka is a Ukrainian filmmaker, documentary filmmaker, video and photo journalist. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has been telling the stories of people involved in the war and Ukrainian culture to an international audience.
Anton Shtuka's Instagram.
The material was created by:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Editor-in-chief: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
Website manager: Vladyslav Kukhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
