Renting in Donbas Costs Thousands of Hryvnias: How Soldiers Search for Housing

According to glavcom.ua: In Donbas, rental prices reach the level of the capital. Even abandoned houses in frontline cities and villages cost soldiers tens of thousands of hryvnias a month. Soldiers talk about the difficulties they face in finding housing, which is included in the costs. This is discussed in the article 'Give a House to a Soldier! The Housing Market Near the Front Line is Experiencing a Boom.'

Crazy Housing Prices

Crazy prices for any housing are a standard picture in Donbas and throughout the frontline areas of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions and the right bank of Kherson.

«Apartments in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk (these are Slavyansk and Kramatorsk in military jargon, 'Glavkom') have been expensive in recent years, and now, after the bastards destroyed or made Pokrovsk, Konstantinivka, and Dobropillya uninhabitable, the demand has become even greater, housing – more scarce and therefore even more expensive,» explains Oleksandr B., a soldier of one of the brigades who has been fighting in Donetsk for two years.

According to him, in Slavyansk, the rental price for an apartment with some repairs and furniture starts at 10 thousand UAH per month, and a two- or three-room apartment with furniture, a boiler, and so-called euro-repair – up to 20 thousand. The cheapest option one can find is a small room in a 'guesthouse' with a tiny kitchen for 6 thousand UAH, but without a toilet; the toilet is at the end of the corridor.

Houses in nearby villages have also become 'golden' – for the opportunity to live for a month in a large brick house from the 1980s, which has running water, owners charge from 20 to 30 thousand UAH per month. Such a house usually accommodates an entire unit – 8-10 military personnel, or 'four-drone' teams, and the payment is divided proportionally among all, so it ends up being inexpensive.

Rental prices for housing in Donbas have reached the level of the capital, causing difficulties for military personnel in finding housing. Frontline cities and villages are experiencing a boom in real estate prices, forcing soldiers to pay significant amounts for rental housing, which often is included in the cost. Soldiers note that even abandoned houses cost tens of thousands of hryvnias per month, and the cheapest options have limited living conditions. The current housing situation in Donbas has become scarce and very expensive, and soldiers have to spend a significant portion of their earnings to secure normal living conditions.