Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Residents of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine have issued a desperate appeal to Vladimir Putin to resolve a disastrous shortage of water. A Russian warblogger admits that the region was better off before the Russian takeover. ⬇️

2/ The entirety of Russian-occupied Ukraine is experiencing a severe and worsening lack of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. War, neglect, faulty infrastructure and corruption are widely blamed for the problems.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1947207437238288673

3/ The 'Blue Z Beard' Telegram channel has published the text of an "appeal to the Tsar" which residents of Donetsk have made to Vladimir Putin. It's unlikely to have much effect, as similar appeals have simply been referred to the local authorities.

4/ "To the President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

5/ "We are appealing to you on behalf of the residents of the city of Donetsk and the entire Donetsk People's Republic with a desperate request to intervene in the situation that has grown from a communal issue into a humanitarian and environmental disaster.

6/ "Since 2022, Donetsk has not had a stable water supply. Water is supplied on schedule: over the past year, it was supplied once every two days, but from the end of July 2025, the authorities intend to transfer us to an even stricter regime – water supply once every three days.

7/ "In conditions of sweltering heat and the lack of alternatives, this is critical and unacceptable.

The quality of the supplied water is disgusting: cloudy, with dirty sediment, it spoils plumbing and pipes, it is impossible to use it for cooking or personal hygiene.

8/ "But it is paid for as drinking water. At the same time, even with the current schedule, the water does not reach the upper floors, especially in old housing stock. People are forced to carry water in buckets from the basements.

9/ "The elderly, families with children, the disabled – everyone suffers, and suffers for years.

10/ "The water pipeline from the Don, built as a 'salvation', works ineffectively: it provides only 6% of the city's needs. Numerous violations were committed during its construction, it constantly breaks.

11/ "The situation is aggravated by economic absurdity. The price of drinking water in vending machines and stores in Donetsk is 5 rubles [6 cents] per litre, which is twice as high as in neighboring cities: in Mariupol and Rostov – 2.5 rubles.

12/ "This is despite the fact that we have no choice but to buy water. Moreover, the water rates in apartments are not only too high, but also unfair given its terrible quality.

13/ "Particularly outrageous is the consumption standard set for the population – 330 litres per person per day. At the same time, the official water supply schedule is from 17:00 to 21:00, that is, only 4 hours a day.

14/ "How a person is supposed to collect 330 liters in 4 hours, no one explains. This is not just ridiculous – it is a mockery.

15/ "Against this background, the city continues to build residential complexes, lay roads, fountains, water shows – all this looks like a mockery of people who live without water and fight for survival every day.

16/ "Moreover, the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant has officially announced plans to increase steel production to 50,000 tons per month this year.

17/ "This will require additional water — tens of thousands of cubic metres monthly, while residents do not have enough of it even for the most basic household needs.

18/ "The construction of new houses, which is actively underway in the republic, will also require significant water supply. But there is nowhere to take water from — this means that even more of it will be taken from the population.

19/ "We, residents of Donetsk and the DPR, demand:

* Take the situation with water supply in the region under your personal control;
* Conduct an investigation into the actions and inactions of local authorities;

20/ "* Punish not only corrupt officials, but also all officials who allowed the impending catastrophe to be hushed up;
* Instruct those responsible to introduce a state of emergency and immediately organize backup sources of supply;

21/ "* Instruct those responsible to develop and implement a program to modernise the entire water supply system, including a second branch of the [Don to Donbas] water pipeline, since the first one cannot cope and was built with violations;

22/ "* Obligate responsible persons to review the tariff policy and standards - towards adequacy, transparency and fairness;

23/ "Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, people live here – citizens of the Russian Federation. We are not just asking – we are shouting. We have been deprived of the most basic [need] – the right to access to water, and we hope that you will hear us.

24/ "With respect and hope for your participation,

Residents of Donetsk and the Donetsk People's Republic!"

25/ Reviewing the situation, 'Voenkor Kotenok' comments: "Of course, it's complete chaos. People waited eight years to be included in Russia, endured Ukrainian bombings, and as a result, the situation is worse than it was before the war. Unimaginable brutality." /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/beard_tim/26240
🔹 t.me/voenkorKotenok…