Saur-Mogila became a key symbol of the defeat of the Nazi troops during the Great Patriotic War. The area saw fierce battles during the liberation of Donbass in 1943. It was one of the defense lines of Hitler’s army. A memorial complex featuring a 36-meter-high stela and the sculpture of a Soviet soldier at the foot was unveiled here in 1967. Later on, an eternal flame was lit up.

DPR forces and the Ukrainian army clashed in a fierce battle in the Saur-Mogila area in the summer of 2014.  The fighting inflicted serious damage on the monument. Historical reliefs have kept the traces artillery strikes sand shell fragments. Rebuilding works started on May 26, 2022 by the Ministry Construction Complex of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Russian Military History Society.