In the Russian-occupied cities of Donetsk and Mariupol, an escalating water crisis has pushed daily life to the brink of survival.
Water trickles out of taps for only a few hours every few days, often discolored and undrinkable. Entire neighborhoods have resorted to survival tactics like hauling water in buckets and collecting rainwater.
Local residents and observers in eastern Ukrainian cities have called on Russian-imposed authorities to tackle what they have said is a devastating situation that demands immediate attention.
'We Live In A Water Desert'
Once industrial heartlands of Ukraine, both Donetsk and Mariupol, as well as smaller towns around them, now face a deepening humanitarian emergency. The combination of destroyed infrastructure, failed reconstruction projects, and collapsing reservoirs has plunged the region into what analysts are calling a full-scale ecological and social catastrophe.
On July 22, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels with hundreds of thousands of followers published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin signed by residents of occupied Donetsk.
The message, also echoed by pro-Kremlin bloggers and military propagandists, warned of a spiraling water crisis.
"Donetsk has had no stable water supply since 2022," the letter states. "Now it's only once every three days, sometimes less."
In Mariupol, the situation is only slightly better. There, water is reportedly supplied every two days, though residents claim that timetable is often not followed.
In both cities, water rarely reaches the upper floors of residential buildings. Households rely on improvised wells, irregular truck deliveries, or plastic tanks scattered throughout neighborhoods. In the summer heat, many of these tanks turn green with algae.
"Over the past eight days, we had water for four hours only. It came out orange," said Olha, a resident of Yenakiyeve near Donetsk. "There are 17 barrels of water for the whole city. The heat is unbearable. Carrying water to the fourth floor without a lift? It's torture."
Another local told the Tochka website that the water smells of rust and sewage. "But we still pay for it like it's clean drinking water."
Failed Russian Solution
After the destruction of the Siverskiy Donets–Donbas canal in the early months of the full-scale Russian invasion launched in February 2022, both Donetsk and Mariupol lost their primary source of freshwater.
The canal, built in the 1950s to supply the region's growing cities, drew water from the Siverskiy Donets River near Slovyansk.
After gaining control over parts of the region, Russia rushed to construct an alternative: the Don–Donbas water conduit, a 194-kilometer dual-pipe system meant to bring water from the Don River near the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. The project, completed in mid-2023 and overseen by then-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, was supposed to solve the region's water problems.
However, the project fell short of its promises, adding to the residents' frustrations and disappointment.
It has also been mired in scandal. Ivanov was arrested in April 2024 for accepting massive bribes, including from the company that built the pipeline.
"Seventy-five billion rubles ($930 million) were stolen," said former Mariupol TV President Mykola Osychenko to Current Time. "And there's still no water."
Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed separatist head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), now concedes that the pipeline covers only a fraction of the region's demand.
In late July, he described the situation in Donetsk's internal reservoirs as "critical." He said a long-term solution would only come once Russia captures Slovyansk, one of the main cities in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, and regains control of the original canal source.
Donbas Reservoirs Run Dry
Satellite imagery reviewed by BBC's Russian Service reveals a startling decline in water levels across major reservoirs in the Donbas region, including those feeding both Donetsk and Mariupol. Nine out of 10 monitored reservoirs have significantly shrunk since 2021. This summer's average temperature in Donetsk was 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) -- not the hottest on record, but hot enough to accelerate evaporation in already depleted basins.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Russia dispatched 75 water trucks to Donetsk. Pushilin boasted that 33 had arrived by July 25.
But the math tells a bleak story: With each truck carrying 10,000 liters, that's just 0.6 liters per person for Donetsk and nearby Makiyivka, home to more than 1.2 million people combined.
"Even if the trucks stayed and operated daily, where would they get the water from?" Osychenko wondered. "There are no viable sources left."
The Zuyivska Thermal Power Plant, one of the region's leading electricity providers, now faces cooling issues due to low reservoir levels. At a poultry farm in the town of Rozovka, two-thirds of the water supply was cut, resulting in many of the birds dying.
As the crisis worsens, even loyal pro-Russian voices are turning on local authorities. Former Ukrainian parliamentary deputy and 2014 separatist leader Oleh Tsaryov posted angrily to Telegram: "Donetsk used to be a city of roses. Now people defecate in bags and some throw them under windows."
Social media is flooded with images and complaints: cracked taps, discolored water, and plastic buckets replacing toilets.
The decay isn't just due to the war but also crumbling infrastructure. According to former utility workers, water infrastructure in the region was already 80 percent worn out by 2014.
Little has been done to maintain or replace it since. In the Kirov district of Donetsk, pipes are nearly 100 percent corroded. Leaks and bursts are daily occurrences, and the losses weren't even factored into the Don–Donbas pipeline's capacity.
Authorities Promise, People Leave
With little faith in officials, many residents are quietly planning to leave.
"People aren't stupid," Osychenko said. "They know if there's no water now, there won't be any later. Without water, there's no electricity. Without electricity, no heating. The whole utility system will collapse by winter."
This fear is echoed by humanitarian groups, which warn of a looming public health disaster. The combination of deteriorating sanitation, limited drinking water, and high temperatures could trigger outbreaks of gastrointestinal diseases.
Donetsk and Mariupol were once symbols of Soviet-era industrial power. Today, under Russian occupation, they are becoming symbols of infrastructural collapse, institutional corruption, and humanitarian failure.
What began as a war of conquest has evolved into a slow, suffocating disaster for those left behind. Until water flows freely again, Donetsk, Mariupol, and the towns around them remain simply in survival mode.
