Значительное количество монахов и мирян пытаются укрыться от войны в Святогорской лавре Донецкой области

A significant number of people remain at the Svyatogorsk Lavra in Donetsk Oblast, despite the hostilities and regular shelling of the area. These include monks and laypeople, some of whom have been living there since the start of the full-scale war.

As noted by Yuriy Vinokurov, first deputy head of the Regional State Administration, some people have already left the Lavra’s grounds, but others remain there and refuse to leave. “The Svyatogorsk Lavra has come under sporadic shelling. Unfortunately, there are a large number of monks who do not want to leave the Lavra’s grounds, as well as laypeople who have been living there since 2022. A third of them have already left, while the rest remain on the Lavra’s grounds,” said Vinokurov.

According to him, the situation is complicated by the fact that access to the Lavra’s grounds remains dangerous, and the only route for delivering humanitarian aid is regularly coming under fire. “There have already been several instances where vehicles and buses carrying monks came under fire,” he added.

As a result, the delivery of water, food, and fuel for generators involves significant risks, and logistics effectively depend on the current security situation. The Svyatogorsk Lavra was granted its status in 2004 and is one of the region’s most famous religious sites. According to official sources, it belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

The situation in the area remains tense, and the issue of evacuating people who continue to remain on the monastery’s grounds remains unresolved due to risks to their safety. The Donetsk Regional State Administration reported on the situation.