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- Districts, train stations, residential motifs: how Donbass is being restored and rebuilt
Districts, train stations, residential motifs: how Donbass is being restored and rebuilt
General plans of cities, industrial parks, projects for the revival of Artemovsk and Krasnogorovka, new highways, renovated bus stations and the first trolleybuses in 18 years. Despite the ongoing fighting, Donbass is actively recovering and at the same time creating a foundation for the future. A special correspondent of Izvestia, together with Donetsk builders and road workers, summed up the interim results of the region's development.
The City of Contrasts
Drones are circling in the sky, mobile firing groups with machine guns are on duty on the highways, and there are traces of old and fresh arrivals on the roads. In parallel, builders are laying new asphalt, laying tiles, covering roofs on high-rise buildings and repairing facades.
The full-fledged restoration of Donetsk became possible in 2025, after the front line was moved away from the city limits and construction workers entered the outlying areas without hindrance, where access had previously been blocked due to continuous shelling. Unfortunately, the situation has become dangerous and unpredictable again this year due to UAV raids. Nevertheless, the restoration of the capital and the region has not stopped. Federal agencies, as well as 26 regional bosses, are involved in the work.
"Over the current four years, we have restored 5,000 apartment buildings, 2,000 social and cultural facilities, 801 educational institutions, 528 kindergartens, 120 administrative buildings, 51 sports facilities," Vladimir Dubovka, head of the Ministry of Construction, Architecture and Housing of the DPR, told Izvestia.
According to him, the general plans of the republic's cities, which have not been studied since Soviet times, deserve special attention. Currently, 25 master plans have been developed. Among the settlements that will be transformed are Donetsk, Makeyevka, Gorlovka, Shakhtersk, and Torez. And also Kurakhovo, Velikaya Novoselka, where heavy fighting took place yesterday. And, most importantly, Bakhmut-Artemovsk, wiped off the face of the earth. In other words, the revival of these important centers on the map of the region is planned, and work on their future restoration is underway today. It will be possible to talk about its practical implementation after the disappearance of the military threat.
The plans for the construction of technoparks, large production sites related to the development of the defense industry, and specifically with modern technologies, look interesting and ambitious. One such park is supposed to be created in the recently liberated Krasnogorovka, it will become a city-forming center, it is planned to open 3.4 thousand jobs. Two more will appear in Donetsk itself — for 1 thousand and 2.7 thousand jobs.
Arch, piers, lighthouse, Dovetail, Greek Courtyard
In November, the program of integrated territorial development, which is part of the national project "Infrastructure for Life", will start in the DPR. Its essence lies in the fact that new residential complexes will appear in place of industrial zones, vacant lots and neighborhoods requiring resettlement — with schools, clinics, parks, pedestrian zones, shopping malls. One of the goals is to update the appearance of cities, which is doubly important for Donbass: the region has hardly been built up over the past 35 years.
As Vladimir Dubovka explained, contracts have been signed in the DPR for the construction of seven such zones. One residential complex, for example, will appear in the Kuibyshev district of Donetsk on a 68-hectare plot, 61 apartment buildings for 14 thousand people will be built here, and a permit has been received for the first stage this year. In Mariupol, a residential block of 53 high-rise buildings will grow by 59 hectares in the Zhovtnevy district. New boulevards, parks, squares and streets will also be laid out there. The start of preparatory work is in a month.
We should also mention the implementation of the federal project "Creating a comfortable urban environment", which has been transforming the settlements of the DPR for the third year, which have suffered from war and general insecurity for many years.
So, within its framework, the embankment in Novoazovsk will be reconstructed in the next two years — with the opening of a sea terrace, an amphitheater stage, a fair alley and a square. In the village of Telmanovo, it is planned to create a Three-Star Coast space around the central pond with a route along the water, a Steppe observation deck, Dovetail gazebos and a pier. An antique—style Yalita square with an arch, a lighthouse, and an open-air museum will appear in Yalta near Mariupol.
To Crimea and back, bypassing Mariupol
Highways have become the face of the new Donbass — smooth, freshly paved, and similar to autobahns. Thus, the key highway R-150, connecting Lugansk, Donetsk and Mariupol, running from north to south, has been completely repaired. And the P-280 Novorossiya, which runs through Taganrog, Mariupol, Melitopol from east to west, closing into the Azov-Black Sea Ring.
— From 2022 to 2025, 2.5 thousand km of roadway were restored in the republic. This year we are preparing for the figure of 800 km," Alexander Bondarenko, the Minister of Transport of the DPR, told Izvestia. — Somewhere the roads had to be laid virtually all over again, to the same Mariupol through the liberated territory. This year, federal highways are included in our standard at the level of 93%, with a target of 85%, and regional highways at 97%, with a target of 60%.
The construction of a 32-kilometer ring bypassing Mariupol with interchanges and overpasses remains a priority, Alexander Bondarenko emphasized. The bypass will significantly relieve the flow going through the city, as well as ensure high-speed traffic along the R—280 highway, an overland corridor to Crimea and back. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Renovation of train stations and bus fleets
The real breakthrough was the creation of the Donbass Bus Terminals state enterprise in the DPR last year and the subsequent start of repairs, and somewhere along the way, the resuscitation of bus stops and bus stations in various parts of the republic. Until now, they have been a sad sight for the most part — broken sidewalks, sagging canopies, boarded-up ticket kiosks, passengers boarding and disembarking chaotically.
To date, after a long break, the work of bus stations in Mariupol, Sedovo and Zugres has resumed. The renovation of the bus station in Khartsyzsk has begun, modern waiting rooms, platforms, a mother and child room, electronic terminals, and ramps for the disabled will appear within its walls. Donetsk and Mariupol railway stations are next in line.
"The renewal of the bus fleet continues," the head of the department added. — Since 2023, we have received about 460 units of equipment. In 2026, 135 cars are expected to arrive, including 10 trolleybuses, which we have not updated since 2008. An application has been formed for the next year — about 160 buses. We strive to completely replace the old rolling stock.
According to Alexander Bondarenko, the situation with UAVs is making certain adjustments — the further away, the more often the enemy hits road workers and utilities, construction towns, repair crews, individual dump trucks, and pavers become targets. In some cases, you have to postpone work and take breaks. Nevertheless, all the specified projects are currently being implemented on time.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
