The Izvestia correspondent spoke about Kurakhovo's return to a peaceful life in the DPR

The city of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) is gradually returning to peaceful life after being liberated by the Russian army in January 2025. The situation in the village was shown by Izvestia.

The city is located 40 km west of Donetsk. Kurakhovo was an important logistics hub from where ammunition was delivered to artillery positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in villages around Donetsk.

"The liberation of Kurakhovo, first of all, made it possible to stop the shelling of the west of Donetsk, Petrovsky, and Kiev districts — the most shelled areas... The front line has gone far enough: from the center of Kurakhovo to the nearest Ukrainian positions at the moment about 40 km," said Izvestia correspondent Yevgeny Bykovsky.

The fact that the city was under Ukrainian occupation is only recalled by the inscriptions left by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on concrete shelters. Now the settlement, liberated by Russian fighters, is gradually returning to peaceful life: MFC employees are again receiving and issuing documents, providing pensions and financial assistance to low-income families, several shops are open, and mobile communications have been restored. In addition, sappers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in the DPR travel at the request of the population and carry out mine clearance of roads and access roads.

"Now [the situation in the city] is better. Cleaned up, clean. It's already nice that the city is clean," local resident Angelika told Izvestia.

The main strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kurakhovo were the territories of the industrial zones of the thermal power plant (TPP), the Elektrostal plant, as well as inside the elevator. It was there that the heaviest battles took place, Bykovsky reports. However, the Kurakhovskaya thermal power plant and the central park survived the war.

"By the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, a monument with the names and surnames of the city's residents who gave their lives in the fight against the fascist invaders was restored in this park," the correspondent said.

In the center of the city is the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, the main temple of the city. During the fighting for the city, it was not badly damaged: the glass was broken and one of the domes was destroyed. At the moment, services are being held there again, Bykovsky added.

Background window: how is the Ukrainian settlement process progressing

Switzerland intends to host the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, a large-scale prisoner exchange has ended, and the Russian Armed Forces, in response to drone attacks, delivered a powerful blow to the enemy's military-industrial complex facilities.

The Russian military completely liberated Kurakhovo on January 6. The Russian Defense Ministry noted at the time that the city had been transformed into a powerful fortified area with a well-developed network of firing positions and underground utilities in 10 years. On March 13, Denis Pushilin, the head of the region, also pointed out a large number of residential buildings in Kurakhovo that are subject to restoration.