Kramatorsk

A large city in northern Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Since October 2014, Kramatorsk has been the provisional capital of Donetsk Oblast after Donetsk was occupied by Russia.

Kramatorsk was temporarily occupied by Russian terrorists in April 2014 as part of the Donetsk People's Republic, however, by July 2014, Ukrainians kicked the Russian terrorists out of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. The administration of Donetsk Oblast would move to the more secure location of Kramatorsk in October 2014.

The name Kramatorsk sounds like an evil villain's lair to English speakers, but it isn't too bad of a city. Since 2014, Kramatorsk has been improving because the city was cleaned up, unnecessary billboards in the city center we're removed, public art and parks were installed, and the central Peace Square became a more lively place. So much so that people started to take pride in Kramatorsk as their home.

In the wake of Russian military buildup before the invasion, Kramatorsk held a large patriotic rally where the citizens asserted that Kramatorsk is Ukraine. Kramatorsk suffered during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Russia fired missiles at the railroad station and one year after that, a pizza restaurant in the city. However, Russia never remained control of Kramatorsk.

Kramatorsk is an undeniably Ukrainian city.

If you get over the scary sounding name, Kramatorsk isn't too bad of a place and might be worth a little visit.