The Savur-Mogyla memorial in east Ukraine commemorating thousands of Russian and German soldiers who perished in World War II stood for decades as testament to the strategic hill's bloodstained history.
Seventy years later, fighting between pro-Moscow rebels and Kiev's army has made the site in the hotspot Donetsk region nine kilometres from the Russian border into a potent symbol once again.
The 300 metre high hill has changed hands between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army several times as each has clawed back territory from the other before being taken by the rebels late last month.
"History repeats itself," said Oleksandr, a 32-year-old Ukrainian separatist who came to pay respects at the site with friends, some in camouflage and some in civilian clothing.
Now the imposing 30-metre obelisk at the top of the hill, along with the cast iron Soviet soldier raising his rifle triumphantly over his head, has been reduced to a stump.
Faces of the metal Soviet soldiers on pillars around it are now missing eyes and show damage on their chests and arms, while nearby fields are still littered with debris and trees torn down by the vicious fighting in July and August.
The memorial, built in the 1960s, depicts episodes from a series of long and bloody battles for the height in August 1943, in which Russian troops beat off soldiers from Nazi Germany.
For pro-Russian rebels the historic parallels at the site build on the widespread notion that their insurgency is directed against "fascist" invaders from Kiev.
Separatists have begun burying their own dead at the site, where shells of various calibres litter the ground along with remains of anti-aircraft guns, now scrap metal.
'Heroes died here'
"For six weeks it was hell here," said the young man, who gave only his nom de guerre, "Thirteenth".
"Our heroes have died here," said Oleksandr. "For us, Savur-Mogyla was always a symbol of death and the heroism of our grandfathers. Their victory over the German army."AFP
