Robert's Bunker on Mount Yavoryna near the village of Lipa

Yaroslav (Robert) Melnyk was born in Berezhnytsia, Kalush district. He studied at the Rohatyn Gymnasium from 1937 to 1939, from which he was expelled for belonging to the OUN. In 1939, he taught in his native village. That same year, he began active nationalist activities. He was a referent, district leader, and regional leader of the OUN in Stanislav region. From 1945 to 1946, he was the leader of the OUN in the Carpathian region.

In an attempt to decapitate the leadership and capture "Robert" alive, the Bolsheviks tried their best to locate his whereabouts. In 1946, a traitor named "Kalim" was caught by the NKVD, who revealed the location of the hideout of the regional leadership. The bunker was located in the Bolekhiv district above the stream Hlybokyi, which flows into the river Mizunka near Mount Yavoryna, south of the village of Lipa. The entrance to the hideout was well disguised by a spruce tree that seemed to be growing there.

On October 31, 1946, the bunker was surrounded by NKVD troops. At that time, besides "Robert", his wife with a small infant, the leader of the SB "Skala", and several guards were in the bunker. The Bolsheviks demanded that they surrender alive, but after the documents were burned, the Ukrainian National Anthem was heard from the bunker, followed by gunshots. "Robert" killed his son, his wife Antonina, and then himself. The others were to kill each other, with the last one supposed to blow up the bunker. This is what happened, but the last partisan did not blow up the bunker, remained alive, and after those terrible years lived in Ivano-Frankivsk. He was a traitor.

"Robert" was posthumously awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit and the Gold Cross of Merit of the 1st class. In his native village (in 1996), a memorial sign was opened in his honor. The area "Yavoryna", where "Robert" died, has been restored, and hundreds of people visit here every year to pay tribute to the immortal heroes.

Near the bunker (in the Hlybokyi area), a cemetery has been discovered and arranged. Here lie the commander of the UPA senior school "Oleni" Major F. Polyovyi ("Pol"), instructors, leaders, and fighters of the headquarters who died in an unequal battle with the NKVD. The "Oleni" school was established in 1943 in the Volyn forests and was later relocated to the Carpathians.

Two routes are marked to the hideout – one from the village of Lipa, the other from the "Carpathian Tram" stop in the Hlybokyi area.