War Kills Soldiers,
Not Politicians
Ukraine is a country where any politician is worse than any soldier.
Written and photographed by Pavel Kuljuk
June 13, 2026
* Journalist Pavel Kuljuk, who lives in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, shares with The Saint his day-to-day experiences in the midst of war.
While the war was making us fall in love with it, Ukraine, behind us, has also been changing under its impact.
"Please tell me on the basis of what documents you are the owner of the house you are selling?" I asked.
"Find out from lawyers how these transactions work and how to legally sell houses without any documents. Ask any village council," the seller replied.
"You wrote to me 'how to legally sell houses without any documents.’ You don't understand what you're writing," I replied, shocked.
The seller claims he's selling a house for which he has no title and hints that village council officials are helping him. Incredible! Such brazen and blatant attempts at fraud are common in Ukraine's rear areas.
"My mother has all the documents for the property, but these documents are registered to the previous owners of the house," the daughter of a woman selling another house answered me.
"And what makes her the owner? I mean, what grounds does she have to sell the house?" I asked, surprised. But no one answered.
This is the simplest form of fraud and the scammers don't even hide it.
An abandoned rural outhouse in our garden. We don't use this outhouse because we have a more convenient one. However, in case of an apocalypse, a rural outhouse is the best solution. A person doesn't need running water, sewerage or electricity to use it.
Due to the war, many people have lost their homes and are wandering the country in search of a better life. Many are so desperate they are ready to believe in any miracle, such as a house sold at an attractive price.
Although the seller doesn't have the deed for the house, the seller will offer the buyer several ways to fix this – all of which are fraudulent. People, exhausted by the war, don't think about this.
That’s what the scammers are counting on. They don't forge documents. They do worse: they exploit people's war weariness.
I've gotten used to living in war and my suffering has dulled like an old knife. I'm not going to try to save myself by believing in miracles.
It's no surprise the first half of the population - Volodymyr Zelensky, Andrii Yermak, Tymur Mindych and those internet scammers – supports the war.
The second half - the Ukrainian soldiers, residents of Kramatorsk and I - either tolerates or openly opposes the war. I tell you about the internet scammers. The international press tells you about Zelensky, Yermak and other Ukrainian officials.
It's no surprise the first half of the population - Volodymyr Zelensky, Andrii Yermak, Tymur Mindych and those internet scammers – supports the war.
These people don't know what real war is. For them, war isn't suffering and death, but big money and opportunities.
I'm losing my property due to shelling and renting it out for $100 a month. I don't charge my tenants for utilities, and, in winter, the rent and the utilities are almost the same. I do this because I'm ashamed to make money off of soldiers who could die at any moment.
My place is rented by a group of soldiers who furnish it themselves and live in a 4-person house, each paying $25 per month. Although soldiers' salaries are among the highest in the country, they have no money. The cost of living is high, and many soldiers spend all of it on delicious food, rent and cars. That's their entire life of luxury. They pay for it by risking their lives.
I don't know a single soldier who has gotten rich during the war. Soldiers also send their money home to their families. However, many of those families are now selling their homes, which they had renovated with the soldiers’ wages. A soldier dies and his family is then forced to sell the house because they don't have enough money to live on.
Although soldiers don't live long or get rich, they are real men. The soldiers are very kind to me and do a lot of free work. For example, they planted a beautiful spruce tree in my village house. It was their gift to me.
A small vegetable bed in our garden. Several types of lettuce grow in the foreground. Cucumbers grow in the background.
Our dog, Busya’s, house. When she was alive, she dug holes under the doghouse, which is why it leans to one side. Busya died in the winter. We buried her in our garden and decided not to have any more dogs. Getting new pets on the eve of an evacuation is a rash decision.
Hot pepper seedlings. Our relatives gave us these seedlings. We'll plant these peppers in our vegetable garden.
Essentially, we're surviving alongside the soldiers and risk dying at any moment. Although the soldiers and I consider war to be normal life, we don't want it to continue. We've become accustomed to war; we've even come to love it. But we understand that this isn't normal.
The love of war is abnormal. War itself is abnormal. That's why we want the war to end. A love of war is like alcoholism.
But people who earn good money from war and aren’t at risk of dying from it love war in a completely different way. It's a blind love. These people don't know what real war is. For them, war isn't suffering and death, but big money and opportunities.
Just one of Zelensky's friends is suspected of stealing $100 million. This sum is almost equivalent to the monthly salary of 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers directly involved in the fighting.
Soldiers risk their lives to earn a pittance while corrupt officials steal millions without risking anything.
The love of war is abnormal. War itself is abnormal. That's why we want the war to end. A love of war is like alcoholism.
My large garden is overgrown with wild grass and poppies. For the first time in all the years of the war, I haven't cultivated it. It's too dangerous. Fighting is closer than 10 miles. Mandatory evacuation of children has been announced in this village. Also, poppies are a horticultural surprise. Just two years ago, these flowers weren't present in our village. But now all the fields are red with them. The reason for so many poppies is unknown.
This isn't just a war between Ukraine and Russia. It's a war between one part of the Ukrainian population and another part of the Ukrainian population.
Cowards, liars, and corrupt officials – immortal in this war - are fighting against brave, honest and hardworking people who are dying in the millions.
This war must end.
I'll be frank with you. I support Ukrainian soldiers not because they are fighting Russians. War with Russia is not in Ukraine's national interests. It is in the national interests of other countries, including Russia.
I support Ukrainian soldiers because they, like me, are victims of political criminals.
I want the U.S. government to take an interest in the immigration of Ukrainian soldiers and police officers with real combat experience to the U.S.
These people deserve a better government than they have at home in Ukraine.
I support Ukrainian soldiers because they, like me, are victims of political criminals. These people deserve a better government than they have at home in Ukraine.
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