Residents of Russian-occupied Donbas are facing a water crisis that could escalate into mass protests.
The Russian Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU,” which is linked to Russia’s security services, published a post about the situation in occupied Donbas. According to the channel, a closed poll was conducted in the region, and its results have deeply alarmed Moscow.
According to the outlet, the survey indicates a high risk of a “social explosion” in the occupied territory: residents have been pushed to despair by a lack of water.
“Its (the poll) results are such that a social explosion could occur in the region at any moment. The population’s satisfaction index with water supply stands at minus 21 percentage points. The share of those who are ‘rather satisfied’ has collapsed from 57% in December 2023 to 35% in April 2025,” the Russian channel wrote.
The situation for the Russian authorities is most severe in the Shakhtarsk district, Mariupol, Debaltseve, Snizhne, Torez and Yenakiieve, where the satisfaction index ranges from minus 10 to minus 27 percentage points.
The Telegram channel called the situation an environmental disaster.
It also claims that, amid the crisis, companies linked to the local “authorities” are profiting from selling drinking water.
Moscow often blames Ukraine for the water crisis in occupied Donbas. The article argues that the catastrophe is the result of Russia’s own actions during the full-scale invasion, which destroyed the region’s water supply system, and that the occupying authorities appear unwilling to fix the problem.
