To reach Sloviansk from Dnipro, travelers now have to take the long, congested T0510 bypass filled with trucks and military vehicles. As the Russian army advanced through the Donetsk region, they cut off transport routes one by one. Along this narrow, once-secondary route, which is now in poor condition, columns of black smoke could be seen in every direction. This is a sign of the intense fighting north of Pokrovsk that cut off the usual T0514 route, as well as of Russian strikes on Ukrainian rear positions. In anticipation of future drone attacks, soldiers stretched nets over the final sections of the road.

The arrival in Sloviansk, just 40 kilometers from the Russian front lines, held another surprise. The town center's shopping streets were lively, most stores were open, and café terraces were bustling with young people – mostly groups of soldiers and couples. There was no palpable tension in the air. While some residents were happy to discuss the stakes of the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15, others abruptly refused, quickening their pace. "We don't talk to the media!" a truck driver almost shouted, as if speaking for the entire city.

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