diff --git a/docs/topics/coroutines.rst b/docs/topics/coroutines.rst
index 62cbc3d49..00812ed7f 100644
--- a/docs/topics/coroutines.rst
+++ b/docs/topics/coroutines.rst
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ hence use coroutine syntax (e.g. ``await``, ``async for``, ``async with``):
 -   The :meth:`~scrapy.spiders.Spider.start` spider method, which *must* be
     defined as an :term:`asynchronous generator`.
 
-    .. versionadded: VERSION
+    .. versionadded: 2.13
 
 -   :class:`~scrapy.Request` callbacks.
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ hence use coroutine syntax (e.g. ``await``, ``async for``, ``async with``):
     of :ref:`spider middlewares <custom-spider-middleware>`, which *must* be
     defined as an :term:`asynchronous generator`.
 
-    .. versionadded:: VERSION
+    .. versionadded:: 2.13
 
 -   :ref:`Signal handlers that support deferreds <signal-deferred>`.
 
diff --git a/docs/topics/spider-middleware.rst b/docs/topics/spider-middleware.rst
index 638035e64..67178b8fd 100644
--- a/docs/topics/spider-middleware.rst
+++ b/docs/topics/spider-middleware.rst
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ one or more of these methods:
         You may yield the same type of objects as :meth:`~scrapy.Spider.start`.
 
         To write spider middlewares that work on Scrapy versions lower than
-        VERSION, define also a synchronous ``process_start_requests()`` method
+        2.13, define also a synchronous ``process_start_requests()`` method
         that returns an iterable. For example:
 
         .. code-block:: python
diff --git a/scrapy/core/spidermw.py b/scrapy/core/spidermw.py
index 4a0cd9464..310abb9b7 100644
--- a/scrapy/core/spidermw.py
+++ b/scrapy/core/spidermw.py
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ class SpiderMiddlewareManager(MiddlewareManager):
                 "either disable or make universal 1 of those 2 sets of "
                 "spider middlewares. Making a spider middleware universal "
                 "means having it define both methods. See the release notes "
-                "of Scrapy VERSION for details: "
-                "https://docs.scrapy.org/en/VERSION/news.html"
+                "of Scrapy 2.13 for details: "
+                "https://docs.scrapy.org/en/2.13/news.html"
             )
 
         self._use_start_requests = bool(deprecated_middlewares)
@@ -103,15 +103,15 @@ class SpiderMiddlewareManager(MiddlewareManager):
                 f"been deprecated in favor of a new method, process_start(), "
                 f"to support asynchronous code execution. "
                 f"process_start_requests() will stop being called in a future "
-                f"version of Scrapy. If you use Scrapy VERSION or higher "
+                f"version of Scrapy. If you use Scrapy 2.13 or higher "
                 f"only, replace process_start_requests() with "
                 f"process_start(); note that process_start() is a coroutine "
                 f"(async def). If you need to maintain compatibility with "
                 f"lower Scrapy versions, when defining "
                 f"process_start_requests() in a spider middleware class, "
                 f"define process_start() as well. See the release notes of "
-                f"Scrapy VERSION for details: "
-                f"https://docs.scrapy.org/en/VERSION/news.html",
+                f"Scrapy 2.13 for details: "
+                f"https://docs.scrapy.org/en/2.13/news.html",
                 ScrapyDeprecationWarning,
             )
 
@@ -435,15 +435,15 @@ class SpiderMiddlewareManager(MiddlewareManager):
                 f"start_requests() has been deprecated in favor of a new "
                 f"method, start(), to support asynchronous code "
                 f"execution. start_requests() will stop being called in a "
-                f"future version of Scrapy. If you use Scrapy VERSION or "
+                f"future version of Scrapy. If you use Scrapy 2.13 or "
                 f"higher only, replace start_requests() with start(); "
                 f"note that start() is a coroutine (async def). If you "
                 f"need to maintain compatibility with lower Scrapy versions, "
                 f"when overriding start_requests() in a spider class, "
                 f"override start() as well; you can use super() to "
                 f"reuse the inherited start() implementation without "
-                f"copy-pasting. See the release notes of Scrapy VERSION for "
-                f"details: https://docs.scrapy.org/en/VERSION/news.html",
+                f"copy-pasting. See the release notes of Scrapy 2.13 for "
+                f"details: https://docs.scrapy.org/en/2.13/news.html",
                 ScrapyDeprecationWarning,
             )
 
@@ -469,8 +469,8 @@ class SpiderMiddlewareManager(MiddlewareManager):
                 f"deprecated spider middlewares (and earlier Scrapy versions) "
                 f"by defining a sync start_requests() method that works "
                 f"similarly to its existing start() method. See the "
-                f"release notes of Scrapy VERSION for details: "
-                f"https://docs.scrapy.org/en/VERSION/news.html"
+                f"release notes of Scrapy 2.13 for details: "
+                f"https://docs.scrapy.org/en/2.13/news.html"
             )
 
     # This method is only needed until _async compatibility methods are removed.
diff --git a/scrapy/spiders/__init__.py b/scrapy/spiders/__init__.py
index 0a1d85ae6..a722dd83b 100644
--- a/scrapy/spiders/__init__.py
+++ b/scrapy/spiders/__init__.py
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class Spider(object_ref):
     async def start(self) -> AsyncIterator[Any]:
         """Yield the initial :class:`~scrapy.Request` objects to send.
 
-        .. versionadded:: VERSION
+        .. versionadded:: 2.13
 
         For example:
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ class Spider(object_ref):
             async def start(self):
                 yield {"foo": "bar"}
 
-        To write spiders that work on Scrapy versions lower than VERSION,
+        To write spiders that work on Scrapy versions lower than 2.13,
         define also a synchronous ``start_requests()`` method that returns an
         iterable. For example: