Residents of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine have addressed an open letter to Putin asking him to take personal control of the problem of water supply in the region. The letter, which was distributed on social networks, claims that the water situation in Donetsk and other cities of the “DPR” has outgrown the level of utility failure and has become a threat to the life and health of the population. This was confirmed to ASTRA by local residents.
In addition, employees of the Four Paws animal shelter in the Kirovsky district of Donetsk recorded a video in which they said they were “surviving as best they can.”
“It’s dry, the barrel is empty, the water ran out two days ago. We’re barely surviving, barely getting it all out. With the heat like this, it’s a real problem. There’s already nothing to pour water with, and there’s really nothing to wash the enclosures with. We survive as best we can. That’s it. We were promised to get [water] on Monday, but today, with such heat, I do not know what to do. <…> Dogs get heat stroke, we do not even have anything to pour water over them. The fans can’t handle it.”
At the same time, the shelter added that it has the ability to pump a limited amount of water from a well (about 100 liters), but to meet the needs of the shelter, ten tons of water are needed “every two days.”
Since 2022, water supply in Donetsk has been carried out on schedule. Water is supplied once every two days, and from July 21, 2025 — once every three days.
“The water is open every three days, but it didn’t even go as promised at 17.00, but at 21.30 and trickled with a little finger. This is despite the fact that there was no pressure above the basement and the residents themselves carried water,” Olga, a resident of the Leninsky district of Donetsk, told ASTRA.
At the same time, the water entering the houses is unusable.
“The quality of the supplied water is disgusting: cloudy, with dirty sediment, it spoils plumbing and pipes, it cannot be used for cooking or personal hygiene. But it is paid for as drinking water. However, even with the current schedule, water does not reach the upper floors, especially in the old housing stock. People are forced to carry water in buckets from basements. The elderly, families with children, and the disabled are all suffering, and have been suffering for years,” the text of the appeal says.
Despite this, water tariffs are charged in full, according to the standard set at 330 liters per day per person. With a water supply schedule of four hours a day, residents claim that it is physically impossible to obtain such a volume. People are forced to carry water in buckets from basements, buy bottled water, or rent apartments on the lower floors to access the water supply.
The cost of drinking water in vending machines and shops is at least five rubles per liter — twice as expensive as in neighboring cities. Local residents claim that the price of water is not regulated, and the authorities and antimonopoly authorities do not respond to the rising cost.
The previously built water pipeline from the Don, as indicated in the letter, provides only about 6% of the city’s needs and is prone to frequent accidents. Residents claim that due to the lack of water and the lack of alternative sources of supply, the situation is getting out of control.
The authors of the appeal urge the Russian authorities to intervene and propose several measures, including the creation of an operational headquarters, the introduction of an emergency regime, the development of a new water supply system and a review of tariff policy.
The appeal was distributed by z-“military officers” — Yuri Kotenok, Anastasia Kashevarova, Timofey Ermakov and others. The “head of the DPR” Denis Pushilin also reacted to him and promised to take action.
