Pulled Into a Dangerous Game

Written & Photographed by Pavel Kuljuk

August 17, 2026

Journalist Pavel Kuljuk, who lives in Kramatorsk, shares with The Saint his experiences in the midst of war.

The situation in Kramatorsk is unfolding in an atypical manner. I'm beginning to suspect that the Russians are planning to encircle and capture the entire city of Kramatorsk, including its population.

"Did someone come this morning while I was sleeping?" I asked.

"My parents brought the last of their things. I can imagine they'll be angry if they have to take them back," Svetlana said.

"We had to gather our things in one place. Even if the evacuation is cancelled, it won't be a big deal. What will be bad is if we have to evacuate and our things aren't here," I replied.

Svetlana's parents brought us their belongings for the evacuation. They included clothes, shoes, tools, a bicycle, some dishes and a few kitchen utensils. Enough to fill the back of a pickup truck. They visited us four times over the course of 10 days. Meanwhile, I needed to figure out what the city's fate would be. My plan for lengthy evacuation preparations paid off!

When we decided to pack up our belongings, the city was experiencing frequent water, electricity, internet and mobile phone outages. The shelling was particularly frequent and severe back then. The Chudo-Market chain store where my wife's sister worked was damaged by shelling. Fortunately, it happened at night, and no one was injured. However, after that, the store closed and myy wife's sister lost her job. At the same time, my last remaining tenant said she would likely be forced to leave the city within a month.

"Can I skip the rent for August? She asked. “I've put down a deposit and would like to live off it for the month. We're unlikely to be able to live here for several weeks."

"Of course,” I replied. “If you decide to stay another month, you'll pay in September. You don't need a deposit anymore.”

This tenant of mine lives in a neighborhood called Lazurny. It’s especially close to Russians and especially dangerous. I couldn't refuse her. After all, she could die any day.

To top it all off, we were cut off from the world for almost three days. During that time, we had no electricity, internet, cell phone service or water. We couldn't even contact each other. We could only use an iron stove, a rustic toilet and water stored in containers. It was like surviving a zombie apocalypse. The nearest store, damaged by the explosion, became the only place to get news. People came there to buy things and share what they knew. The store clerks became the most knowledgeable people about what was happening, and the situation had become critical.

A rural cafe destroyed by Russian drones.

But we endured it. Because the whole family knew we had the opportunity to evacuate. We just had to wait a couple of weeks to pack our things. Once we’d done that, the situation in the city improved dramatically. The water supply hasn't been shut off for two weeks now, while electricity and internet are only out for a few hours every few days. Usually, this happens after 10 p.m., so it poses few problems. According to official information, Kramatorsk authorities are preparing for the heating season. This means officials believe the Ukrainian government will retain control of the city and that conditions for peaceful life will be preserved.

However, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War reports that Russians have captured the village of Vasyutynske near Kramatorsk. Even so, officials didn’t declare a lengthy curfew. They only announced the mandatory evacuation of children from the city's districts closest to Russian ones. The stages of a city’s death that I described in my first report are happening out of order.

I have only one explanation for what's going on: the Ukrainian government can't acknowledge the Russian army's successes. Therefore, for propaganda purposes, officials in Kramatorsk haven't declared a long curfew. Such a decision would devastate peaceful life in the city and herald the imminent arrival of the Russians. The Ukrainian authorities are pretending things are fine. The Russians have also reduced the amount of daytime shelling of our area.

My intuition tells me that the Russians are interested in encircling Kramatorsk and capturing the city and its population, which Putin needs for political purposes. He’s often criticized for the fact that the Russian army destroys captured cities and expels the population. Therefore, he wants to respond to his critics. Politicians from both countries are playing games that are dangerous for me and my family.

Svetlana's parents' packed belongings.

Okay, I'll play this game, too. My things are already packed, so we can leave the city in a day or two. However, I haven't bought a plot of land yet. Fate has tripped me up, and my best choice is no longer available. I found a plot of land on Strazhska Street in the village of Solomonove on the outskirts of Chop. This is the westernmost tip of Ukraine, only 4,260 feet (1,300 meters) from the border crossing into Slovakia. The seller was asking $3,500 for the plot but agreed to let it go for $2,000. Incredibly flexible, a discount of almost 50%. But the situation has me feeling unsettled. Strazhnitska Street was formed before the war with the Russians, and local authorities allocated 42 plots for construction by 2022. However, none of the landowners have begun construction. There aren't even fences or toilets on this street. In addition, a local farmer plowed up all the land and planted crops there. This is very strange, especially since the land is private property.

I did a little Googling and found out the land is so close to the state border that any construction must be approved by the border guard service. Even if I want to build a fence, I need permission from the border outpost command because a fence, house, well and garage are considered engineered structures. Ukrainian law states the permit is issued free of charge and for an indefinite period, but special conditions will need to be met for vehicles delivering building materials and for construction crews to work on my property. In short, there are many bureaucratic hurdles. Is it possible to overcome them? Unlikely! After all, none of the 42 landowners are building on the street.

I decided to test my suspicions that obtaining permits was difficult, if not impossible. This had to be done before I purchased the land. I decided to engage realtor Vasilina Sharga, of the My Home (Miй Дiм) real estate agency in Uzhgorod, to help with the transaction. She’s been a realtor for 10 years and represents the seller of the land I wanted to purchase. I looked at her photo online, and she seemed like someone whose reputation is more important than money. I thought, why not ask her to represent me as well? I wonder how she'll react.

The closest grocery store to us. Three months ago, this store and the cafe in the photo above were bought by an optimistic entrepreneur. Rumor has it the price was $40,000. A month ago, the store was damaged by Russian drones and the cafe was completely destroyed.

"I'm buying a plot of land. Can you act as my realtor? I'll mail you a power of attorney and pay for the service. I need it to be a remote transaction, since I'm preparing to evacuate and don't want to pay for a trip across the country. Mailing a power of attorney will be cheaper, even with your fee. The purchase transaction will be covered in the American press, so everything needs to go smoothly," I said.

Vasilina initially agreed to my proposal, but then she backed out.

"No. I can't take on such responsibility,” She replied. “Find a trusted person. I apologize.”

"Okay. I'll find someone else to draw up the power of attorney," I said.

A couple of weeks later, I called Vasilina again.

"My relatives are ready to formalize the land deal," I told her.

"Sorry. The agreement is no longer valid,” Vasilina replied. “The seller doesn't want to offer a discount."

I laughed after hanging up the phone. They won't sell me this plot, so I took that as a sign. I'll be honest. I don’t think I was mistaken about the realtor. Vasilina seems like a decent person in a difficult situation. She has no legal grounds to refuse the sale of the plot, but she doesn’t want me to make a purchase that would ultimately be a waste. Although I’m legally allowed to buy the land, the numerous construction restrictions near the border would make it practically impossible to use. Thanks to the realtor's integrity, my concerns were confirmed, and I avoided financial disaster. I’ll continue to search for a plot of land with Vasilina's help, who has proven her honesty. I didn't buy the land, but I did gain an ally in the Transcarpathian real estate market. I hope I can find something faster than the politicians play their game. Otherwise, I'll have to leave Kramatorsk within a day or two.

pulled into A dangerous game

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