The water shortage in occupied Donetsk is getting worse — people only get water once every three days, and the water that’s brought in doesn’t even cover half of what they need. The quality of tap water is a concern, and it’s not recommended for drinking. Meanwhile, the city is cutting back on water supply schedules, closing filling stations, and limiting consumption.
At the end of July, the so-called “DPR government” decided on new restrictions. In Donetsk and Makiivka, water is supplied for only four hours every three days. In other settlements, the situation is slightly better — water is supplied every two days. The occupation administration explains this by the heat and depleted reservoirs. At the same time, officials do not hide the fact that they are trying to save the remaining water for the upcoming heating season.
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Residents of Donetsk are complaining en masse on social media: the water quality is poor, and the pressure is insufficient even during designated supply hours. Drinking water distribution points are operating intermittently, and long queues are forming at those that are open. Sometimes the water runs out within the first hour.
All this has been exacerbated by a new restriction: the leader of the “DNR” group, Denis Pushilin, has set a maximum price for drinking water of 3.50 roubles per litre. However, entrepreneurs have not been offered any compensation, so many have refused to work at a loss. As a result, some of the distribution points have closed.
In addition to time restrictions, the occupying authorities plan to reduce the amount of water available to residents. They are accused of “excessive consumption.” Against the backdrop of the worsening situation, city residents are writing appeals to the Russian authorities, asking them to provide for their basic needs — even children are participating in these appeals.
Water supply problems in Donetsk have been ongoing since 2014. Over more than a decade of occupation, the local administration has failed to resolve the critical situation. In some areas, water is delivered in tanks due to the technical inability to supply it centrally. The “DPR government” is asking Russian regions for equipment that could solve this problem.
The occupiers have also begun construction of water pipelines from the Vuhlehirsk and Pavlopil reservoirs. However, the exact timing of the projects and guarantees of their effectiveness have not been disclosed. Instead, they publicly accuse Ukraine of a “water blockade,” explaining the closure of the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal.
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The reality is different: the canal stopped working due to hostilities. Its structures were damaged by shelling. The occupiers themselves contributed to the destruction — in particular, in 2025, they blew up part of the pipes in Chasiv Yar to create passages for military equipment.
After losing access to the canal, the occupying authorities embarked on a new project — the Don-Donbas water pipeline. Thousands of people and pieces of equipment were involved in several months of construction. The authorities promised that this would solve the water problem. However, the water pipeline proved ineffective: it provides only half of the required volume. In addition, the project was implemented with significant technical violations, and part of the funds was stolen. One of the construction supervisors, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Timur Ivanov, received a prison sentence for corruption.
The result was the depletion of key reservoirs and a further deterioration in the water supply situation. The DPR claims that it is currently supplying only a third of the required volume of water. On average, this is 252,000 cubic metres per day instead of 850,000.
Local authorities cite weather conditions as another reason for the shortage: a dry winter, lack of rain and heat. There are also huge water losses due to burst pipes, which no one repairs. Over 100 accidents per day — this is the result of ten years of mismanagement.
Currently, the authorities in the occupied territory are not offering any real solutions. All efforts are focused on correcting the consequences of poor-quality construction and projects that have not yielded results. The current crisis in Donetsk was caused not by blockades, but by years of systematic inaction by the occupation regime.
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