Not a drop to drink – Meduza

Report on the Water Crisis in Russian-Occupied Ukrainian Territories and its Conflict with Sustainable Development Goals

A severe water crisis in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine has escalated into a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe, fundamentally undermining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The situation, originating from the 2014 conflict and worsening since the 2022 full-scale invasion, highlights a critical failure to provide basic services and protect human rights, directly contravening the principles of sustainable development.

SDG 6: Failure to Ensure Clean Water and Sanitation

The core of the crisis is a direct violation of SDG 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The reality for residents in Donetsk and surrounding areas is a complete collapse of this objective.

• Lack of Access: Water rationing has been intensified, with distribution reduced from every two days to once every three or four days in some areas.
• Inadequate Supply: During the brief supply windows, low pressure prevents water from reaching the upper floors of apartment buildings, leaving many residents with no access at all.
• Unsafe Water Quality: The water that is supplied is reportedly filthy and rust-colored, posing significant health risks and failing the “safely managed drinking water services” target of SDG 6.
• Unaffordability: Residents face high water bills for this unreliable and unsafe service. The cost of bottled drinking water is double the price of nearby cities, placing a severe financial burden on households and violating the principle of affordability.

Compounding Impacts on Health, Equality, and Economic Stability

The failure to meet SDG 6 has created a domino effect, severely impacting other key development goals.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being & SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, exacerbating inequalities and posing grave health risks.

1. Health Hazards: The use of contaminated water and unsanitary coping mechanisms, such as lining toilets with bags to conserve flushing water, create a high risk of waterborne diseases, directly opposing SDG 3.
2. Burden on Vulnerable Groups: The elderly, people with disabilities, and mothers with young children face immense physical strain carrying heavy buckets of water, particularly in buildings without functioning elevators. This deepens social inequalities, a setback for SDG 10.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth & SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The region’s economic viability and the sustainability of its communities are under threat.

• Industrial Disruption: Critical infrastructure, such as the Zuevskaya thermal power plant, is at risk of shutdown due to low water levels in cooling ponds. This threatens the regional power supply and numerous enterprises, undermining SDG 8.
• Agricultural Losses: A poultry farm reportedly lost a large number of birds after its water supply was drastically cut, demonstrating the impact on local food production and economic stability.
• Unsustainable Urban Management: Despite the severe rationing imposed on residents, authorities continue to operate city fountains and stage public water shows, a clear example of unsustainable resource management that contradicts the principles of SDG 11.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The crisis is rooted in conflict and perpetuated by a failure of governance, highlighting a collapse of the institutions necessary for peace and justice.

An open letter from residents to the Russian president outlines demands that reflect a call for the accountability and transparency central to SDG 16. These demands include:

1. Presidential oversight of the crisis.
2. An investigation into local corruption and negligence.
3. Declaration of a state of emergency.
4. Immediate overhaul of water infrastructure.
5. Fair pricing and transparent regulations.

The construction of the Don-Donbas Pipeline, a project supervised by a now-jailed official and deemed insufficient to meet regional needs, further exemplifies the institutional failure and alleged corruption. The official position of the occupation authorities—that the crisis can only be resolved by the military capture of Sloviansk to control water infrastructure—is the antithesis of SDG 16’s goal to promote peaceful and inclusive societies.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • The article’s central theme is the severe water crisis in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region. It details the lack of access to clean and sufficient water, the poor quality of the available water, and the failure of sanitation systems. The text describes water being “rationed,” “dirty,” and creating a “humanitarian and ecological catastrophe.”

2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • The root cause of the water crisis is identified as the ongoing conflict, specifically “Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war Moscow unleashed in Donbas.” Furthermore, the article highlights institutional failures, including corruption (“former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was later jailed for corruption”), negligence, and a lack of transparency, which residents are protesting through an open letter to Vladimir Putin.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • The article describes the drastic decline in living standards within cities like Donetsk, which was “once a city of roses, a model city.” The failure to provide basic services like water, which “frequently fails to reach the upper floors of buildings,” directly impacts the sustainability and habitability of these urban communities. The text notes the situation is “unthinkable savagery” and living conditions are “worse now than before the full-scale invasion.”

4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   • The crisis is framed as a failure of critical infrastructure. The article mentions the severing of regions from “crucial water infrastructure,” the destruction of the “Kakhovka Hydroelectric Plant Dam,” and the damage to the “Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal.” It also discusses the inadequacy of new infrastructure, noting the new “Don-Donbas Pipeline” is only a “stopgap solution” that meets “at most 45 percent of the region’s need.”

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. The article shows this target is not being met, citing rationed water distribution (from every two days to every three), high prices (“5 rubles per liter,” double that of nearby cities), and unsafe quality (“filthy, orange-stained fluid”).
   • Target 6.4: Substantially increase water-use efficiency and ensure sustainable supplies of freshwater to address water scarcity. The article highlights extreme water scarcity, forcing authorities to intensify rationing. It also notes the impact on the industrial sector, such as the “Zuevskaya thermal plant,” where water levels are at “critical lows.”
   • Target 6.b: Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management. This is demonstrated by the actions of the residents who wrote an “open letter to Vladimir Putin” and laid out a “series of demands,” including personal oversight, investigations, and new regulations for fairness.

2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The article explicitly states that the water crisis originates from “Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war Moscow unleashed in Donbas,” linking the suffering directly to armed conflict.
   • Target 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms. The article provides a clear example with the case of “Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov,” who supervised the pipeline construction and was later “convicted of bribery charges” and faced a second case for accepting “152 million rubles ($1.9 million)” from a contractor on the project.
   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The residents’ letter demands an “investigation into local graft and negligence” and “new regulations to ensure transparency and fairness,” indicating a perceived failure of existing institutions, which are described as “amorphous” in their response.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services. The lack of a reliable water supply is a failure of a basic service essential for adequate housing. The article notes that water “fails to reach the upper floors of buildings” and people resort to using “kulechki (small bags) to catch excrement” to conserve water for flushing.
   • Target 11.5: Significantly reduce the number of people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations. The water shortage is described as a “humanitarian and ecological catastrophe.” The article specifies its impact on vulnerable groups, stating that “mothers with small children, people with disabilities, and the elderly must manage heavy buckets up flights of stairs.”

4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. The article details the breakdown of essential water infrastructure, such as the “Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal,” and the construction of new, but inadequate, infrastructure like the “Don-Donbas Pipeline,” which a former utility executive described as “tipping a teaspoon of water into a cauldron of borscht.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For Target 6.1 (Access to safe and affordable drinking water):

   • Indicator: Price of drinking water. The article provides a specific figure: “people living in Donetsk pay 5 rubles per liter,” which is explicitly compared to prices in other cities where it is “half that price.”
   • Indicator: Quality of water. While not a numerical measurement, the descriptive indicator of water being a “filthy, orange-stained fluid” and “full of rust” points to a failure in providing safe water.
   • Indicator: Frequency and duration of water supply. The article provides clear metrics on rationing: “distribution had been every two days; now it will be every three days,” and water is “only available for four hours in the evening on distribution days.”

2. For Target 6.4 (Water Scarcity):

   • Indicator: Level of water stress/supply vs. demand. The article states that the new Don-Donbas pipeline “meets at most 45 percent of the region’s need for fresh water,” providing a quantitative measure of the supply deficit.

3. For Target 16.5 (Corruption):

   • Indicator: Number of persons/businesses brought to justice for corruption-related offenses. The article mentions a specific high-profile case: the conviction of “Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov” for bribery related to the water infrastructure project.

4. For Target 9.1 (Infrastructure Reliability):

   • Indicator: Proportion of infrastructure services that are non-functional or operating below capacity. The article indicates the primary water source, the “Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal,” has had its water levels “plunge,” and the new pipeline only covers “45 percent of the region’s need,” serving as a clear indicator of infrastructure failure and inadequacy.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: meduza.io