Along the main road from the checkpoint, our bus passed a few small towns and plenty of bus stops, every single one painted in the Russian flag colours. We also drove past a large cemetery with hundreds of recent-looking graves. In former Soviet countries, it’s common to place photos of the deceased, and here it was clear that some belonged to soldiers, while many others were civilians: teenage girls, middle-aged couples … a heavy sight.

The bus finally arrived at 12:30PM, about 30 minutes late, my fault after a long chat with the FSB at the checkpoint. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from Donetsk, and to my own surprise, as strange as it sounds, I think I actually found the city center more pleasant than Rostov-on-Don (it’s definitely cleaner).

Locals told me that traffic jams have started to reappear after years of none, and people have slowly begun moving back to the city over the past months. Russian flags are everywhere, displayed alongside the black-blue-red flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Plenty of people advised me not to go to Kievsky Rayon, so I stayed within the central Voroshilovsky District.

Despite being one of Ukraine’s largest cities until 2014, Donetsk has never been a tourist destination (except for football). It was historically a major hub of heavy industry, so from a tourism perspective, there isn’t much to “see” in the typical sense.

The city centre is smaller than I expected. From the Yuzhny bus station, I walked to Ulitsa Artyoma, the city’s main avenue, then reached Ploshad Lenina, Donetsk’s central square. There stands a 42-metre flagpole and a commemorative stele with a quote from Vladimir Lenin: “Donbass is not a region chosen at random, but a region without which the construction of socialism will remain a mere pious wish.”

Ploshad Lenina, Donetsk central square

For lunch I went to Tatarochka, a Crimean Tatar restaurant. The food was excellent, the service friendly, and my waiter even spoke decent English. There are quite a few cafés, coffee shops, and restaurants in Donetsk considering the circumstances, but you may find it tricky to find them online. I spotted this one simply by walking past, the storefront stands out, it was full of people, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I highly recommend it.

After lunch, I crossed the road via one of the city’s underground pedestrian passages. All of them are completely empty, not a single open shop despite them looking fairly new. From there I made my way to Shevchenko Square, home to a well kept statue of Ukrainian national poet Taras Shevchenko, located along Shevchenko Boulevard. Food for thought, isn’t it?

Shevchenko in front of the DPR Government House

I continued on to Zakharchenko Square, named after Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the DPR who was killed in a bomb attack in 2018 in a café on Pushkin Boulevard (there’s now a memorial next to the old café Separ – “Сепар” is short for separatist).

On the square stands the DPR Government House, and in front of it a memorial dedicated to the defenders of Donbass. It features two statues: one of a Soviet soldier from the Great Patriotic War, and another representing a Donbass fighter from the 2014-2023 period.
A minute later I saw that photos aren’t allowed there, likely because of the government building in the background, but, well, that same picture appeared in the news anyway.

Monument of the defenders of Donetsk

I didn’t take the full picture, some dudes were watching me 😅 so here is the full monument from Ria.ru

Before reaching the market, I stopped by the Transfiguration Cathedral (dating from 2000, the original was destroyed during Soviet times). At the back of the church, there’s a small room where people write zapiski, small paper notes for the living or the dead, a common Orthodox practice. I had never seen so many people doing this at once: the room was packed, and the church overall was very busy in the middle of the afternoon on a regular weekday. People of all ages were there, old, young, families, some soldiers.

Transfiguration Cathedral

From there, I walked toward the Central Market, which, by contrast, felt almost empty. The historic round building is completely closed, so the market is essentially outdoors. Only a handful of stalls were open, and the overall atmosphere felt half-asleep.

I continued toward the Kalmius River. The promenade was actually pleasant and clean, lined with benches and paths for walking. If you didn’t know where you were, you could easily mistake it for any mid-sized Russian city on a quiet weekday.

Afterwards, I made my way down Pushkin Boulevard, where I found dozens of outdoor information stands from the 20:14 project, created in 2024 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Donetsk People’s Republic. They display photos, quotes, and personal accounts from participants and eyewitnesses of the 2014 events in Donbass.

Each stand includes a QR code leading to a Telegram audio tour, where political figures, soldiers, and local activists recount how the protests unfolded, the clashes, and the early days of the conflict. Given the absence of foreign visitors, the entire thing is only in Russian.

20:14 project on Pushkin Boulevard

Everything in Donetsk looks unmistakably Russian today, the flags, the language, the street signs, even the car number plates, most of which have already been replaced by the new Russian “180”. But one thing really stands out: the shops. There’s no Magnit or Pyaterochka yet, though I’m sure they’ll appear on every street corner in a couple of years.

For now, the main local chain is Gerkules Moloko. I grabbed an ice cream and a few sweet snacks made in Donbass, partly out of curiosity: just a few years ago the manufacturers were still registered in Ukraine, and now their addresses are fully updated within the Russian Federation.

On my way back to the station, I stopped to check out Kontinent Tsentr, a shopping mall. But first I had to navigate Ploshchad Komunarov, a chaotic five-in-one circular square that functions simultaneously as a roundabout, a cinema, a shopping gallery, and an underground pedestrian passage. The place is a maze: exits simply labelled A, B, C… You pick one and hope for the best. Locals clearly know their way around, I absolutely did not.

The shopping mall itself is recent and filled with fake luxury brands. As a French person, seeing these displayed like ordinary stores was honestly a bit shocking 😅. Of course there are no Western brands whatsoever, but plenty of luxury counterfeits (bags, leather goods). Oh and ladies, fur coats are fashionable in Donbass.

Back at the station for my return bus, I discovered the strange departure board system: platform numbers simply aren’t displayed. Instead, departures are listed by the bus number plate, which I found incredibly confusing. You definitely don’t see this in “regular Russia”.

When the man checking bus tickets saw my name on the list, he asked, “Chto eto? Anglisky?” When I said French, he lit up and went, “Aaaah… oooh !” It was hilarious.

To wrap up this walk through Donetsk’s centre, I still came across some pretty rough sights: several large but completely empty shops, a few bullet-riddled buildings, the damaged Victoria Hotel, emergency water buckets in public bathrooms, a reminder that people have been living like this since 2014. And here and there, men with missing limbs.

I kind of regret not staying overnight; the return trip from Rostov plus walking around all day was a bit draining, and staying the night would’ve made the whole experience easier.