Due to Russia's full-scale invasion, 80% of the forest plantations of the "Sviati Hory" (Holy Mountains) National Park in the north of the Donetsk region have been destroyed. The environmental damage to the national park was preliminarily estimated at about UAH 16 billion. The park is known for the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, one of the three Orthodox monasteries currently operating in Ukraine.
This was reported on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
According to Olena Kramarenko, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection, about 9,500 hectares of the Holy Mountains forest have been destroyed by fire. 10,000 hectares need to be surveyed and explosive ordnance disposal, the official added.
Kramarenko noted that these figures are "frightening" and "make us consider the restoration of the park." Earlier, Minister of Environmental Protection Ruslan Strilets instructed to "develop a step-by-step plan" to help restore the Holy Mountains.
Currently, environmentalists are conducting demining on their own, the deputy minister said. About 100 kilometers of forest roads and access roads to fire ponds have already been cleared of mines.
The Holy Mountains National Nature Park is located in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut districts of the Donetsk region, Hromadske reports.
The park is home to chalk mountains that have preserved rare plants, such as the chalk pine of the pre-glacial period.
In total, the number of plant species growing in the park reaches 943, of which 48 are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. In addition, the park is home to 256 species of animals, 50 of which are "Red Book" species.
The park has 129 archaeological sites dating from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages, as well as 73 historical monuments.
During March-September 2022, the Holy Mountains were under occupation and are now under constant shelling, which leads to fires.