Dozens of communities in Russian-occupied Luhansk region have been left without water after a major pipeline failure, according to Ukraine’s Center for National Resistance.
The group says the regional utility “Luhanskvoda” is now run by managers brought in from Russia after local leaders were dismissed by the Russian-installed administration. The upheaval has left the company in disarray, with pumping stations operating manually, trunk lines reportedly 80% worn out, and no reserves available.
Internal meetings at “Luhanskvoda” are ending in shouting matches, the group claims, adding that Russian authorities have barred officials from discussing the true scale of the water crisis.
The latest breakdown has cut supplies to dozens of settlements across the Russian-occupied part of Luhansk region.
Water shortages are also affecting Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk region and Crimea. In Alushta, supplies could last only three months, the Center for National Resistance says. Russian-installed officials have begun looking for scapegoats, with Crimea’s Moscow-backed leader Sergei Aksyonov blaming Russia’s Defense Ministry for diverting water to military training grounds. The Kremlin is preparing a “purge” of the local administration over the crisis, according to the group.
