On April 13, 2014, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine began a large-scale anti-terrorist operation, which eventually turned into a war against the Russian army. The battles for Karachun and the battles for Savur-Mohyla went down in history as one of the bloodiest battles in Donbas at the beginning of the ATO.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes documentary photos of photojournalist Oleksandr Klymenko.
The next day after the start of the ATO, on April 14, Mount Karachun near Slavyansk became one of the first hot spots of conflict in Donbas. Then the militants fought for this height with the forces of ATO in order to cut off the Ukrainian channels, because there was a TV tower on it. The famous Mount Karachun was of strategic importance in order to control the city of Slavyansk and the entrances to the city. This was very well understood by the Russian military, special forces, who practically isolated this control height. The siege lasted almost two and a half months. In the battles for this land, the Ukrainian army suffered the first losses.
On May 29, 2014, Russian troops shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter. At about noon that day, the general on a helicopter delivered ammunition and food to the checkpoint at Karachun and flew on. The plane returning from a mission in the combat zone was shot down by Russian militants from a portable anti-aircraft missile complex.
11 fighters of the special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and guards and Major General Serhiy Kulchitsky were killed in the Mi-8 airstrip. He became the first general in the history of Ukraine's independence to die in the performance of official duties. In honor of the crew, a memorial was opened near Mount Karachun on the highway between Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
Photojournalist Oleksandr Klymenko recalls that Mount Karachun became one of the first places he had to shoot at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Three times the photographer managed to fly with the MI-8 and deliver military aid, including food and water, to the defenders of Karachun.
“The first time I didn't know where we were going, when we had already returned, I realized that it was Karachun. We flew very low so that the militants would not shoot us down. The helicopter landed and everything was unloaded from it very quickly. But there was one man who asked to take a photo for memory. And I took such a photo. The next time I was in Karachun with the 95th Brigade. In general, I was: June 4 and June 21, 2014. From there, Slavyansk was clearly visible. When I flew to Karachun for the second time — there I met this man again, then I met him. Then he became one of those who hung the flag on the television tower in Karachun. It was such a famous story. This paratrooper from the 95th Brigade was called Serhiy Shevchuk,” the photographer recalls.
Oleksandr notes that at that time it was already clear to him that “this is not an ATO, this is a real war, people fought and there were shelling, traces of mines and bullets.”
The liberation of Slavyansk was a turning point in the de-occupation of a number of other cities and villages of Donbas. The fighting for Slavyansk lasted from April to July 2014. The Russian-backed militants left the city on the night of July 5, 2014. This enabled the Ukrainian military to establish control over Kramatorsk, Artemivsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka during 5—6 July.
The famous “Markiv affair” is also connected with Karachun. On May 24, 2014, near this mountain as a result of mortar shelling, Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocelli and his Russian translator Andrei Mironov were killed. Italian police in 2017 detained Ukrainian national guard Vitaliy Markiv, who has Ukrainian and Italian citizenship, on false suspicion of involvement in the murder of an Italian photojournalist. An Italian court sentenced him to 24 years in prison, but then acquitted.
In the fighting for Savur-Mohyla from June 6 to August 29, 2014, 49 ATO fighters were killed.
Savur grave in Donetsk region is a strategic mound 278 meters high, located in Shakhtar district of Donetsk region. On August 7, 2014, a group under the command of Colonel Igor Gordichuk and Right Sector volunteers took control of Savur grave. For a month, the Ukrainian military held the height completely surrounded and under fire from Russian artillery.
The mound of Savur-Grave rises significantly above the surrounding steppes. From its top you can see the territory with a radius of 30—40 km, which allows you to control a significant part of the Ukrainian-Russian border. From Savur-Grave you can see the terikons of mines, the plant in Amvrosiyivka and the Sea of Azov. In World War II, a large-scale battle with Nazi troops took place here.
Since the height was controlled by pro-Russian forces, it was turned into a fortified point, which allowed them to monitor the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to adjust the shelling of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the territory of the Russian Federation. The intensity of the fighting for Savur Tomb increased during June and July 2014. To capture the altitude, the Ukrainian command involved, in particular, units of the 79th Separate Airmobile Brigade and the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment.
On June 5, 2014, south of the altitude, Ukrainian troops with the support of aircraft fought with pro-Russian groups that tried to break into Ukraine from the territory of the Russian Federation near the customs post “Marynivka”. The attack was repelled. However, on June 7, pro-Russian forces occupied Savur-Mohyla. Positional battles for control of altitude have entered a protracted phase. Due to the high density of artillery fire, the Armed Forces could not take the mound. However, in early August, the height came under the control of the Ukrainian military. About 70 people took part in the storming of Savur Tomb and, after a two-hour battle, they managed to take the heights and finally consolidate there on August 8.
Savur Tomb was in the deep rear of the enemy and it was very difficult to maintain control over it. For three weeks, Ukrainian fighters repelled the Russian military. At that time, the Armed Forces monitored the enemy forces and even adjusted the fire of Ukrainian artillery.
The soldiers told Colonel Gordiichuk about the imexpediency of maintaining altitude in such a deep rear of the enemy, but he was not going to leave without an order. On August 24, 2014, the order to withdraw from the mound was received. By that time, the Savur grave was already in a tight ring. The car of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment, which arrived for the wounded, was shot by Russian mercenaries in Petrovsky. Groups of Ukrainian servicemen left the encirclement without heavy equipment, on foot, moved to the nearest Ukrainian units. Some of the military were captured by the Russians.
On September 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine recognized the departure of Ukrainian servicemen from Savur-Grave. On September 8—9, bodies of Ukrainian servicemen who died during fighting at Savur-Grave arrived with signs of torture. The remains of the captured soldiers found at the site of the field camp near Savur Tomb were disfigured beyond recognition. Yuriy Stoyansky, an officer of the Military-Civil Cooperation Forces, said: “There were traces of torture — severed phalanges of fingers, hands twisted, pieces of bodies, there were traces of suffocation.”
Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
Life as a Deadline: 10 Years of War in the Photos of Olexander Klymenko
Oleksandr Klymenko was born in Chernihiv region. Graduate of the Faculty of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. From 1991 to 2024 — photocorrespondent of the newspaper “Voice of Ukraine”. In 1992, he documented events in Transnistria, then in the former Yugoslavia, as well as Lebanon, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the Revolution of Dignity, being in the very epicenter of events, Alexander was wounded. Since the beginning of the Russian military aggression in 2014, he has filmed events on the front in the east. Oleksandr is the author of several photo albums, including: “Ukraine. 10 years of progress” (2001), “Peacekeeping activities of the Ukrainian army. The First Decade” (2004), “Through Fire and Tears” (2009), “Front Album” (2016). “The latest history of Ukrainian journalism. From Maidan to Maidan” co-authored with Yuriy Nesteryak and Julia Nesteryak (2022). Had personal photo exhibitions at UN Headquarters in New York (2012), NATO Headquarters in Brussels (2012, 2013, 2014), Lithuania (2015), Poland (2015, 2016, 2023), Luxembourg (2015), Norway (2023), Latvia (2022); participated in collective exhibitions on the war in Ukraine in the parliaments of Great Britain (2015) and Denmark (2014).
The material was created with the support of The Fritt Ord Foundation.
On April 13, 2014, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine began a large-scale anti-terrorist operation, which eventually turned into a war against the Russian army. The battles for Karachun and the battles for Savur-Mohyla went down in history as one of the bloodiest battles in Donbas at the beginning of the ATO.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes documentary photos of photojournalist Oleksandr Klymenko.
The next day after the start of the ATO, on April 14, Mount Karachun near Slavyansk became one of the first hot spots of conflict in Donbas. Then the militants fought for this height with the forces of ATO in order to cut off the Ukrainian channels, because there was a TV tower on it. The famous Mount Karachun was of strategic importance in order to control the city of Slavyansk and the entrances to the city. This was very well understood by the Russian military, special forces, who practically isolated this control height. The siege lasted almost two and a half months. In the battles for this land, the Ukrainian army suffered the first losses.
On May 29, 2014, Russian troops shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter. At about noon that day, the general on a helicopter delivered ammunition and food to the checkpoint at Karachun and flew on. The plane returning from a mission in the combat zone was shot down by Russian militants from a portable anti-aircraft missile complex.
11 fighters of the special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and guards and Major General Serhiy Kulchitsky were killed in the Mi-8 airstrip. He became the first general in the history of Ukraine's independence to die in the performance of official duties. In honor of the crew, a memorial was opened near Mount Karachun on the highway between Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
Photojournalist Oleksandr Klymenko recalls that Mount Karachun became one of the first places he had to shoot at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Three times the photographer managed to fly with the MI-8 and deliver military aid, including food and water, to the defenders of Karachun.
“The first time I didn't know where we were going, when we had already returned, I realized that it was Karachun. We flew very low so that the militants would not shoot us down. The helicopter landed and everything was unloaded from it very quickly. But there was one man who asked to take a photo for memory. And I took such a photo. The next time I was in Karachun with the 95th Brigade. In general, I was: June 4 and June 21, 2014. From there, Slavyansk was clearly visible. When I flew to Karachun for the second time — there I met this man again, then I met him. Then he became one of those who hung the flag on the television tower in Karachun. It was such a famous story. This paratrooper from the 95th Brigade was called Serhiy Shevchuk,” the photographer recalls.
Oleksandr notes that at that time it was already clear to him that “this is not an ATO, this is a real war, people fought and there were shelling, traces of mines and bullets.”
The liberation of Slavyansk was a turning point in the de-occupation of a number of other cities and villages of Donbas. The fighting for Slavyansk lasted from April to July 2014. The Russian-backed militants left the city on the night of July 5, 2014. This enabled the Ukrainian military to establish control over Kramatorsk, Artemivsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka during 5—6 July.
The famous “Markiv affair” is also connected with Karachun. On May 24, 2014, near this mountain as a result of mortar shelling, Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocelli and his Russian translator Andrei Mironov were killed. Italian police in 2017 detained Ukrainian national guard Vitaliy Markiv, who has Ukrainian and Italian citizenship, on false suspicion of involvement in the murder of an Italian photojournalist. An Italian court sentenced him to 24 years in prison, but then acquitted.
In the fighting for Savur-Mohyla from June 6 to August 29, 2014, 49 ATO fighters were killed.
Savur grave in Donetsk region is a strategic mound 278 meters high, located in Shakhtar district of Donetsk region. On August 7, 2014, a group under the command of Colonel Igor Gordichuk and Right Sector volunteers took control of Savur grave. For a month, the Ukrainian military held the height completely surrounded and under fire from Russian artillery.
The mound of Savur-Grave rises significantly above the surrounding steppes. From its top you can see the territory with a radius of 30—40 km, which allows you to control a significant part of the Ukrainian-Russian border. From Savur-Grave you can see the terikons of mines, the plant in Amvrosiyivka and the Sea of Azov. In World War II, a large-scale battle with Nazi troops took place here.
Since the height was controlled by pro-Russian forces, it was turned into a fortified point, which allowed them to monitor the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to adjust the shelling of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the territory of the Russian Federation. The intensity of the fighting for Savur Tomb increased during June and July 2014. To capture the altitude, the Ukrainian command involved, in particular, units of the 79th Separate Airmobile Brigade and the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment.
On June 5, 2014, south of the altitude, Ukrainian troops with the support of aircraft fought with pro-Russian groups that tried to break into Ukraine from the territory of the Russian Federation near the customs post “Marynivka”. The attack was repelled. However, on June 7, pro-Russian forces occupied Savur-Mohyla. Positional battles for control of altitude have entered a protracted phase. Due to the high density of artillery fire, the Armed Forces could not take the mound. However, in early August, the height came under the control of the Ukrainian military. About 70 people took part in the storming of Savur Tomb and, after a two-hour battle, they managed to take the heights and finally consolidate there on August 8.
Savur Tomb was in the deep rear of the enemy and it was very difficult to maintain control over it. For three weeks, Ukrainian fighters repelled the Russian military. At that time, the Armed Forces monitored the enemy forces and even adjusted the fire of Ukrainian artillery.
The soldiers told Colonel Gordiichuk about the imexpediency of maintaining altitude in such a deep rear of the enemy, but he was not going to leave without an order. On August 24, 2014, the order to withdraw from the mound was received. By that time, the Savur grave was already in a tight ring. The car of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment, which arrived for the wounded, was shot by Russian mercenaries in Petrovsky. Groups of Ukrainian servicemen left the encirclement without heavy equipment, on foot, moved to the nearest Ukrainian units. Some of the military were captured by the Russians.
On September 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine recognized the departure of Ukrainian servicemen from Savur-Grave. On September 8—9, bodies of Ukrainian servicemen who died during fighting at Savur-Grave arrived with signs of torture. The remains of the captured soldiers found at the site of the field camp near Savur Tomb were disfigured beyond recognition. Yuriy Stoyansky, an officer of the Military-Civil Cooperation Forces, said: “There were traces of torture — severed phalanges of fingers, hands twisted, pieces of bodies, there were traces of suffocation.”
Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
Life as a Deadline: 10 Years of War in the Photos of Olexander Klymenko
Oleksandr Klymenko was born in Chernihiv region. Graduate of the Faculty of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. From 1991 to 2024 — photocorrespondent of the newspaper “Voice of Ukraine”. In 1992, he documented events in Transnistria, then in the former Yugoslavia, as well as Lebanon, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the Revolution of Dignity, being in the very epicenter of events, Alexander was wounded. Since the beginning of the Russian military aggression in 2014, he has filmed events on the front in the east. Oleksandr is the author of several photo albums, including: “Ukraine. 10 years of progress” (2001), “Peacekeeping activities of the Ukrainian army. The First Decade” (2004), “Through Fire and Tears” (2009), “Front Album” (2016). “The latest history of Ukrainian journalism. From Maidan to Maidan” co-authored with Yuriy Nesteryak and Julia Nesteryak (2022). Had personal photo exhibitions at UN Headquarters in New York (2012), NATO Headquarters in Brussels (2012, 2013, 2014), Lithuania (2015), Poland (2015, 2016, 2023), Luxembourg (2015), Norway (2023), Latvia (2022); participated in collective exhibitions on the war in Ukraine in the parliaments of Great Britain (2015) and Denmark (2014).
The material was created with the support of The Fritt Ord Foundation.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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