Water: Donetsk’s Lifeline

Volunteers supply water to Donbass under shelling

As Grad shells and mortar rounds coming from Ukraine damaged dams and water reservoirs, the entire Donbass was eventually cut off from its water supply. This is when volunteers came to the rescue. ‘I am a very happy person, especially now that we have water. With my mother bedridden, I really didn’t know what to do, and so… But now, they’re pumping well-water through the pipes’, says Viktoria Kvasnikova, a local village resident. Volunteers drilled a well in her backyard, and, after months without water Viktoria can finally get it without risking her life. Like many other Donbass citizens, she got used to constant Ukrainian shelling and finally being able to have easy water access was a great joy.

Since the spring of 2022, Novruz and his 9-year-old son Elnur – despite the risk involved – constantly look for water and deliver up to 27 barrels per day to the bombed areas. Volunteers who help with water supplies say any stationary equipment for drilling wells is immediately attacked by the Ukrainians. All work has to be done quickly and discreetly. However, no matter the risk, volunteers continue to deliver water to more and more Donbass residents. What drives these people to help others at their own peril?