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DPR Head Pushilin tells Putin occupied Donetsk’s water crisis persists amid shortage of specialists
The absence of water is wearing out utility networks in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk even faster, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR), said in a briefing to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Around 230 emergency crews are working to fix breakdowns in occupied cities, roughly half of them brought in from Russia, he said. About 700 specialists have arrived from so-called “patron cities,” Pushilin claimed, adding that no such experts could be found in Donetsk or other occupied cities.
Pushilin said 126 kilometers of pipelines have been replaced, with plans to replace 165 kilometers more. To ease the strain, authorities are tapping underground sources. Still, water-supply problems persist. He stressed that reservoirs in occupied areas could be fuller after a snowy winter.
“The winter has been snowier compared to past years, which allows us to regulate water delivery more confidently,” he said.
Pushilin has repeatedly said that a full water supply in occupied cities of the Donetsk region will only be possible if Russia seizes the entire region. About 72 kilometers of the Donbas’s key water artery—the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal—are currently under Ukrainian military control or lie directly in the combat zone, said Serhii Mokryi, head of the Voda Donbasa utility (controlled by the “DPR”). Another 53 kilometers of the canal are under occupation.
Mokryi emphasized that canal facilities near the front line come under regular shelling, severely complicating operations and repairs to the water system.
For residents of the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 2025 has become a fight for water. Since the summer, Donetsk, Makiivka, Mariupol, Yenakiieve, Antratsyt and other cities have lived under strict water-rationing schedules - or with no supply at all. Water appears in homes once every few days, and in some places it’s absent for weeks. Even those schedules are considered “not the worst option.” Whether the situation changes in 2026, and whether real solutions to the water crisis exist, remains an open question.
