Sviatohirsk Reserve
Holy Mountains above the Donets: chalk caves and 17th-century churches.
The "Holy Mountains" were first mentioned in 1526; the monastery was formally founded in 1624. In the chalk cliff above the Siverskyi Donets runs a labyrinth of 17th-century caves and cells, with St Nicholas church of the same age on top. In 2022 the complex suffered repeated shelling and bombardment: sketes destroyed, main buildings damaged. The landmark stands — and waits for quiet. Here, from the age of thirteen, Oleksii Yukov from Sloviansk searched for the dead of the Second World War — the founder of the Platsdarm search group.
A frontline zone: go only when it is safe.