St. George's Skete of the Sviatohirsk (Holy Mountain) Lavra, Dolyna, Donetsk oblast

St. George's Skete of the Sviatohirsk (Holy Mountain) Lavra
St. George's Skete of the Sviatohirsk (Holy Mountain) Lavra
General information
Building type	church
Location	Dolyna, Donetsk Oblast
Religious affiliation*	Orthodoxy (UOC MP)
Date of damage	8 May 2022
Damage degree	complete destruction
	*as for moment of shelling

As a result of targeted bombing on May 8, 2022, the St. George's Skete of the Sviatohirsk (Holy Mountain) Lavra in the village of Dolyna, Donetsk region, was completely destroyed. Only the foundation and partially ruined walls, battered by shell fragments, remain. This was reported by Major Yuriy Kochevenko of the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on his Facebook page. The information was later confirmed by the Donetsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

On November 16, 2022, representatives from the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, which includes the Skete's complex, inspected the site. They conducted detailed photo and video documentation of what remained. The report on the Sviatohirsk Lavra’s website describes heaps of debris, boxes from ammunition, and numerous unexploded ordnance scattered among the ruins. Some of the church facades are still standing but show bullet impacts. The central Church of St. George the Victorious is reduced to ruins, with damage believed to result from at least three bombings. The lower church is relatively intact, and a five-ton bell located beside the church survived. The monastery grounds and fence are seriously damaged, and the outbuildings also require restoration.