September 12 marks the anniversary of Svyatogorye’s liberation from Russian occupation. It was on this day in 2022 that Ukrainian troops liberated the city.
Six days earlier—on September 6, 2022—the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region. The liberation of Sviatohiria was part of a large-scale operation that extended into the northern part of the Donetsk region.
On September 11, soldiers of the 81st Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Bohorodychne in the Sviatohiria community. The next day, the Ukrainian flag flew once again over the entrance to the Sviatohiria City Council building. It was raised by soldiers of the Serhiy Kulchytskyi Battalion, who were the first to enter Sviatohirsk and secure a foothold in the city.
A few days after stabilization measures were carried out, local residents began returning to Sviatohirsk.
Sviatohirsk had been under occupation for 101 days. During this time, Russian troops destroyed and damaged a significant number of buildings in Sviatohirsk itself and almost completely destroyed Bohorodychne, Mazanivka, Krasnopillia, and Dolyna—there were practically no intact houses left there.
The Ukrainian national flags displayed on Kurortna Street became a unique symbol of Sviatohirsk’s resilience. Despite fierce fighting, shelling of the city, and the Russian occupation, these flags survived and continued to fly.
Today, on the fourth anniversary of its liberation, the city feels the proximity of the front lines. However, despite all the enemy’s manipulative statements, Sviatohirsk remains under Ukrainian control, and life in the city goes on.