War in Ukraine | Bakhmout residents struggle to get water

(Bakhmout) Valentyna and her daughter Natalia first faced the gas cut when the fighting started in Bakhmout, then the bombardments destroyed the power lines. In August, they already had no more water, but the situation became untenable, forcing them to leave.

When the fighting intensified, with the battle for the city in the Donetsk region becoming the longest and most devastating of the war in Ukraine, the two women replaced gas and electricity with wood and coal.

But when it became too difficult to reach the well in their neighborhood, the scene of bitter fighting, they undertook the perilous crossing of the Bakhmutovka river to escape the besieged city.

“A week ago it was possible to live there, but not anymore,” says Natalia, 52, who is waiting with her 73-year-old mother to be evacuated to a humanitarian aid center with some 8,000 other inhabitants of Bakhmout.

The already precarious existence of these residents was further disrupted when the city’s water supply was cut off in October.

The city, which had a population of 70,000 before the war, has struggled to save water supplies since March, when shelling hit a canal, the main water supply, as well as two wells.

Authorities attempted to repair power lines to pump water to treatment facilities, but their efforts were thwarted by intensified shelling.

” Take a shower ”

“Drinking water is now supplied to the city entirely by volunteers,” said the head of the military administration of Bakhmout, Oleksandr Marchenko.

Last week, volunteers at a humanitarian aid center distributed magnums of water to residents.

Firefighters also distribute water for other needs, and besides the few private wells, residents collect water where they can from the street, according to Marchenko.

It is a less risky solution than the river, which divides the city in two and constitutes a front line.

Svitlana, 38, her husband and their five-year-old son repeatedly crossed a ruined bridge under intense shelling to get water, only being able to bring back 36 liters.

“We haven’t had water since the war started,” she said, watching her son play in the shelter opened by the People’s Unity organization in what used to be a sports centre.

Sandbags have been piled up on the windows and the air is difficult to breathe in the stuffy premises of the former boxing hall.

“My dream is to take a shower,” Svitlana says, referring to the hand sanitizer and wipes that were the only way to ensure her personal hygiene for months.

No water either for the fires

Volunteers dig a well in front of the building that houses the center, another part of the project providing showers and washing machines.

Ruslan Khublo, 33, studied engineering and answered a call on Instagram to join the project.

But during a recent visit by AFP, shelling reached the neighborhood, killing at least one person.

Mr. Khublo, whose town Olenivka is occupied by Russian forces, is undeterred.

“We don’t know whether Bakhmout will be taken or not, but the people who live here need help,” he said. “There are people who haven’t washed for two months.”

A 500 liter tank truck, filled daily by volunteers or firefighters, has become a crucial water dispenser for humanitarian and medical centres.

But that system is under pressure, as firefighters have to fill the tanks of the trucks not only to supply water, but also to fight the fires caused by the bombardments.

Olga and Mykalo watched helplessly last week as their apartment burned down as firefighters ran out of water.

The Protestant aid organization Hands to Help is providing materials for two wells and Anatoliy Beztalanny, 48, volunteered with others to dig them.

“We know there is enough food here, but there is a problem with sanitation and water,” he says.

But their progress is blocked by a layer of rock, forcing them to return to Kyiv to find material to drill. They are determined to return, despite the danger.