Water Crisis Threatens East Ukrainian City
2022-08-09
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1The eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk has a severe shortage of water.
2Members of the city's shrinking population must fill water containers by hand at public wells throughout the city.
3As guns and rockets fire, people go outside only long enough to get water at the pumps.
4The pumps have been the city's only water source for more than two months.
5Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the city in the Donetsk area has threatened access to important resources.
6Residents have been cut off from gas and water for months.
7The water flows for now. But many fear that by winter, the city could face a humanitarian crisis once the pipes begin to freeze.
8Sloviansk sits just 12 kilometers from Russian-occupied territory.
9"The water infrastructure was destroyed by the constant battles," said Lyubov Mahlii.
10The 76-year-old woman gathers 20 liters of water twice a day from a public tank near her apartment.
11"It's a great risk for us, but what can we do?" she said.
12Only a fifth of the city's pre-war population of 100,000 remains.
13Heavy fighting continues only kilometers away as Russian forces continue their push to take over Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas area.
14Local officials believe the water situation will only get worse once the weather gets cold.
15Locals fill their bottles with hand pumps or from plastic tanks at one of the five public wells.
16They then carry them home in bicycle baskets or wheeled carts.
17Mahlii said she boils some water for at least 15 minutes to make sure it is safe to drink.
18The rest is used for bathing, washing clothes and dishes, watering plants and taking care of a lost dog.
19Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an evacuation order to all residents of the Donetsk region at the end of July.
20But, Mahlii has not made plans to flee.
21"I don't want to leave," she said. "I will die here."
22Another Sloviansk resident, 75-year-old Ninel Kyslovska, gathered water from a tank at a park on Sunday.
23She said the shortage had made her life much more difficult.
24She blamed the local government for the lack of running water.
25She said Kramatorsk, just 10 kilometers to the south, still had running water in homes.
26But that may be threatened once winter arrives, when the temperature drops to -20 degrees Celsius, said Oleksandr Goncharenko.
27He is the head of Kramatorsk's military administration.
28He said that places like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk - which also lack gas - had become "hostages of destroyed infrastructure."
29Goncharenko said Kramatorsk will empty water from city pipes that run into unheated buildings to prevent them from freezing and bursting.
30He said he does not think gas would be returned before winter.
31Ukrainian officials are still trying to persuade the remaining people in Donetsk to evacuate.
32The war's front line threatens to move further west.
33And it will be very hard for people to live in the cold winters.
34Officials in Kramatorsk plan to build more public wells to supply the remaining population.
35But Goncharenko warned the water may not be of good quality.
36Mahlii has not made plans for what she will do once cold weather arrives.
37But after 47 years in her Sloviansk apartment, she will face whatever difficulty.
38"We are surviving by any means," she said.
39I'm Dan Novak.
1The eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk has a severe shortage of water. Members of the city's shrinking population must fill water containers by hand at public wells throughout the city. 2As guns and rockets fire, people go outside only long enough to get water at the pumps. The pumps have been the city's only water source for more than two months. 3Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the city in the Donetsk area has threatened access to important resources. Residents have been cut off from gas and water for months. 4The water flows for now. But many fear that by winter, the city could face a humanitarian crisis once the pipes begin to freeze. Sloviansk sits just 12 kilometers from Russian-occupied territory. 5"The water infrastructure was destroyed by the constant battles," said Lyubov Mahlii. The 76-year-old woman gathers 20 liters of water twice a day from a public tank near her apartment. 6"It's a great risk for us, but what can we do?" she said. 7Only a fifth of the city's pre-war population of 100,000 remains. Heavy fighting continues only kilometers away as Russian forces continue their push to take over Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas area. 8Local officials believe the water situation will only get worse once the weather gets cold. 9Locals fill their bottles with hand pumps or from plastic tanks at one of the five public wells. They then carry them home in bicycle baskets or wheeled carts. 10Mahlii said she boils some water for at least 15 minutes to make sure it is safe to drink. The rest is used for bathing, washing clothes and dishes, watering plants and taking care of a lost dog. 11Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an evacuation order to all residents of the Donetsk region at the end of July. But, Mahlii has not made plans to flee. 12"I don't want to leave," she said. "I will die here." 13Another Sloviansk resident, 75-year-old Ninel Kyslovska, gathered water from a tank at a park on Sunday. She said the shortage had made her life much more difficult. 14She blamed the local government for the lack of running water. She said Kramatorsk, just 10 kilometers to the south, still had running water in homes. 15But that may be threatened once winter arrives, when the temperature drops to -20 degrees Celsius, said Oleksandr Goncharenko. He is the head of Kramatorsk's military administration. 16He said that places like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk - which also lack gas - had become "hostages of destroyed infrastructure." 17Goncharenko said Kramatorsk will empty water from city pipes that run into unheated buildings to prevent them from freezing and bursting. He said he does not think gas would be returned before winter. 18Ukrainian officials are still trying to persuade the remaining people in Donetsk to evacuate. The war's front line threatens to move further west. And it will be very hard for people to live in the cold winters. 19Officials in Kramatorsk plan to build more public wells to supply the remaining population. But Goncharenko warned the water may not be of good quality. 20Mahlii has not made plans for what she will do once cold weather arrives. But after 47 years in her Sloviansk apartment, she will face whatever difficulty. 21"We are surviving by any means," she said. 22I'm Dan Novak. 23Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 24______________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26access - n. the right or ability to approach, enter, or use 27resident - n. a person who lives in a place 28infrastructure - n. the system of public works of a country, state, or region 29constant - adj. occurring continuously or following one after another 30evacuate - v. to leave or cause to leave a place of danger 31_______________________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.