As of September 28, UNESCO had confirmed that Russia's invasion of its neighboring country had damaged 82 religious sites in Ukraine. The Holy Mountains Lavra of the Holy Dormition, a significant Orthodox Christian monastery near the recently freed town of Svyatohirsk, is one of those locations. Also known as the Svyatohirsk Monastery of the Caves, the large complex of onion-domed churches is considered one of the five holiest sites in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Liberation of Svyatohirsk Reveals War Damage To Revered Ukrainian Orthodox Monastery
- By RFE/RL
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A photo captured on October 3 reveals some of the damage to the monastery that overlooks the Siverskiy Donets River. Ukrainian forces recaptured the town of Svyatohirsk from Russian troops in September.
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Russian air strikes targeting the nearby bridge and Ukrainian troop positions repeatedly hit the monastery, where hundreds of internally displaced people had sought refuge.
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Several monks and a nun were killed during the shelling, while an unknown number of people have been injured.
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Earlier in the war, Ukraine evacuated those who wanted to leave, but many people, such as Lyudmyla, 64, chose to shelter in the basement with no running water or electricity alongside an estimated 100 monks who refused to leave.
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Despite the shelling, many remain faithful to the Russian Orthodox Church and to its leader in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, who has "blessed" the Russian invasion.
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Ukraine's Orthodox Church had asserted its independence from the Russian church, but many of its parishes, especially in Ukraine's east, elected to remain under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
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The World Bank estimates that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine will be a minimum of $349 billion, 1.5 times the size of Ukraine's prewar economy. This figure is expected to rise as the war continues.
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A photo captured in December 2021 shows the idyllic winter landscape surrounding the monastery.
