Water shortage a growing problem for occupied Donetsk – UK intelligence

Water shortage is becoming a growing problem for the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.

The UK Defense Ministry said this in a new intelligence update on Twitter, according to Ukrinform.

"On 28 April 2023, the head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, announced that regional water supplies were dangerously low. Water scarcity has been a growing issue for Russian-occupied Donetsk since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine," the update reads.

The Siversky-Donets canal which supplies the region remains largely under Ukrainian control but has been frequently contested along its long route.

"Russian forces have likely been seeking to secure the canal to reduce water scarcity within Donetsk," the intelligence said.

The Siversky-Donets canal traverses through the town of Chasiv Yar, approximately 6km to the west of Bakhmut.

British intelligence believes that Russia's heavy use of indirect artillery to support the capture of Bakhmut and surrounding territory has likely inflicted collateral damage to the canal and other regional water infrastructure, undermining Russia's efforts to remedy the lack of water that its invasion originally created.

"To compensate for its lack of success in capturing and retaining the canal Russia is likely constructing a water pipeline to mitigate the water shortage in Donetsk City. However, this is highly unlikely to fully compensate for the occupied regions' reduced access to water," British analysts said.