‘Ticking environmental bomb’: Water crisis deepens in Russia-held Donbas - Assalamu alaikum
Assalamu alaikum - Residents say they lack enough water for basic needs while officials warn infections are rising.
To collect water from tree leaves, people tie branches inside a plastic bag and leave it for hours. The condensed liquid is then boiled before drinking.
This isn’t an outdoors survival trick but a reality in the Russia-held parts of the drought-hit Donbas in southeast Ukraine. Years of shelling destroyed the region’s water infrastructure, and many locals, separatist authorities and Ukrainian officials say a man-made drought now affects much of the area’s estimated 3.5 million people.
Unregulated mining is also contaminating the few remaining water sources with chemicals, methane, carcinogens and possibly radioactive particles. Experts warn the Donbas has become a “ticking environmental bomb.”
“We’re slowly dying of thirst,” said Anna, a 29-year-old mother of two in Donetsk, speaking on condition of anonymity because contact with foreign reporters can lead to detention.
“Instead of baths, the children wipe themselves with wet cloths,” she added. “Donetsk feels like a desert.”
Before the war, Donetsk and its suburbs were full of parks, fountains and rose gardens. Now apartment blocks with central water and heating systems often get running water only a few hours some days. For much of 2025, residents had water for only several hours a week, and nearby areas under separatist control face the same shortages.
Tap water is frequently discolored and smells bad; people say it must be boiled and filtered. Many share worries about diseases: Ukrainian authorities report outbreaks of cholera, dysentery and other water-borne illnesses, while locals describe having no water to flush toilets and resorting to collecting waste in plastic bags.
Leaders in the occupied region have admitted reservoirs are nearly empty and called water supply their most serious challenge. Moscow constructed a canal from the Don River, but it hasn’t reached planned capacity, suffers from faulty pipes and provides far less than what cities like Donetsk require. Corruption and mismanagement have been cited by critics.
Residents fear winter: snow could be melted for drinking but central heating won’t work without water. Some say people who can leave do so because living conditions are unbearable.
Experts say repairing the old Soviet-era canal and water systems would take years even under favorable conditions, and the damage to communal services, loss of trained staff and continued fighting make recovery unlikely soon. Illegal and resumed mining has worsened the problem by draining and poisoning groundwater and surface water, and some warn of long-term risks such as radioactive contamination from past incidents.
This crisis is a humanitarian and environmental disaster that affects ordinary families who just want clean water at home. May Allah make ease for those suffering and guide those with authority to act swiftly and justly.
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