New cafes, restaurants, and shops have appeared along the town's streets, while sushi restaurant signs and modern coffee shops attract local residents.
This development occurs despite the fact that about 5,000 residents of Ternivka have left the town since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Conversely, about 10,000 internally displaced persons have moved to Ternivka, primarily miners from the Donbas region, creating a significant local population increase.
Ternivka Deputy Mayor Taras Tarkovski said the town continues to operate normally, with jobs and tax revenue being maintained.
According to Mr. Tarkovski, the war gives the locality no choice in when to adapt to the circumstances.
While Ternivka shows signs of economic recovery, many nearby towns in the Donetsk Oblast have been heavily destroyed. Russian forces currently control about 80% to 85% of Donetsk territory.
Local leaders argue that ceding territory in exchange for peace would leave hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians living in those areas in a dire situation.
According to Mr. Tarkovski, ceding cities like Kramatorsk or Sloviansk would bring Russian forces closer to other residential areas and turn many regions into “ghost towns.”
Despite this, Ternivka still faces frequent attacks. Last month, 12 miners were killed and 16 others injured when a Russian missile struck a bus carrying workers to a DTEK coal mine.
Many refugees from the Donetsk region also share stories of hardship in the occupied areas.
Alla Ryabtseva, a refugee from Donetsk, said her hometown is now in an occupied zone and communication with relatives has become very limited.
Other Ukrainians expressed a sense of exhaustion after years of war. Many residents have had to flee their homes, moving to shelters or other cities within the country.
According to figures from humanitarian organizations, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes since the conflict broke out in 2022.
