The first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also a reminder of the long-term challenges faced by that embattled country, including one of the most important resources for human survival: water.

“For Ukrainians, water has been under fire for nearly a decade,” observed Erika Weinthal, Professor of Environmental Policy and Public Policy at Duke University, at a recent Water @ Wilson Series event: “Water and Conflict: Updates from the Russia-Ukraine War,” co-hosted by the U.S. Water Partnership.

Indeed, experts at the event pointed out that water crises have plagued Ukraine since its independence in 1991. But the nexus of conflict and water has been intensified and accelerated over the past year of savage warfare. As a result, the cascading environmental, social, and economic effects created by damage to water systems have grown worse as well.

Deepening an Existing Crisis

Russia’s invasion in 2022 has placed Ukraine in a continual state of emergency. The pervasive damage sustained by its water systems over the past year is testimony to this fact. Yet, vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s water infrastructure were present many years before the current conflict.

The most obvious damage came from previous attacks beginning in 2014 involving Russia’s seizure of the Crimea and portions of eastern Ukraine. In this case, the considerable damage to its systems had both military aims and civilian consequences. “Controlling water is a way to occupy territory and remove civilians,” said Weinthal.

Yet even prior to open conflicts with Russia, major pipelines in the country— including one supporting 3.7 million people—have been in a state of disrepair since Ukraine’s declaration of independence more than three decades ago. As Sébastien Truffaut, former Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Chief in Ukraine, UNICEF, observed, there has been “no major investment since 1991.”

The 2022 invasion intensified these existing water infrastructure issues, especially in areas where the conflict is most intense, such as in the east and south of Ukraine. Dmytro Vankovych, Director of the Lviv City Communal Enterprise Water Utility, said that “during wartime, critical infrastructure has been precisely targeted.” These attacks have targeted main water pipelines that deliver water to civilians, pumping stations, and many electrical power substations. Russia’s attack on a dam on the North Crimean Canal at the beginning of the conflict was yet another damaging attack on the nation’s water supply.

A Damaging Confluence

Water is a basic component of daily life and is needed to generate electricity, to have hospitals and other critical infrastructure function, and for production more broadly. Therefore, attacks on water resources and infrastructure create a confluence of impacts that inhibit the functioning of key features of Ukrainian society. Indeed, impairing the close relationship between water and energy infrastructure has been one key focus of Russia’s attacks. For instance, Russia’s specific targeting of electrical plants has also cut off the ability to pump water to people in need. In winter, Truffaut pointed out, “no electricity means no water.”

Weinthal added that the “unprecedented” targeting of energy facilities in Ukraine is not just limited to conventional power plants. “We are seeing attacks on nuclear facilities,” she said, adding that there have been “at least 34 attacks” on nuclear facilities that provide power for the country.

Water’s vital role in generating nuclear energy comes both in its usage by pressurized water reactors and in boiling water reactors. Water not only cools fuel rods, but also releases steam that powers the electrical generator and moderates neutrons in the nuclear fission process. Without adequate water supplies, nuclear power plants are unable to produce electricity.

These targeted attacks on water and energy infrastructure have larger ripple effects. Weinthal observed that the communities where fighting is taking place “were not designed for war.” Water and energy resources are intertwined with other infrastructure, especially in urban centers, where hospitals and schools rely on stable access to water and electricity to serve large populations.

Without access to clean water, it is impossible for hospitals to operate at full capacity and for children to have adequate access to education. Truffaut said that war’s damage to water infrastructure makes it impossible for “the economy to prosper” and “has a tremendous impact on children and families over the years.”

Human displacement compounds the manifold impacts of Russian attacks on water infrastructure. Franklin Broadhurst, a WASH Technical Advisor in the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID, stated that “Ukraine has now passed Syria as the world’s largest displacement crisis, [with] 5.4 million people internally displaced and 8 million refugees.” Internal displacement within Ukraine is a particular problem, as people move to the west of the country to avoid the war and put a strain on the capacity of local water systems there.

Vankovych added that this human traffic goes both ways. As demand for water increases in western Ukraine, the engineers who might repair damaged infrastructure and operate water systems are moving east to defend their country, further compounding the long-term systemic costs of the war on Ukrainian society.

The International Response

Lauren Risi, the Director of the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, moderated the event. She noted that these “cascading effects of back-to-back crises” in Ukraine’s water infrastructure have put “pressure on our ability to respond effectively.”

So, how is the global community responding? International aid organizations are implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs throughout Ukraine, which involve trucking in decentralized water systems to affected areas, providing supplies to hospitals and schools, and assisting with repairs of water and sanitation infrastructure. These aid efforts are mostly focused on the “east and south along the contact line,” said Truffaut, where Ukrainians in need are stuck behind enemy lines with little to no access to humanitarian aid. Aid workers are also working closely with dedicated Ukrainian water workers to facilitate the reconstruction of water facilities in the country.

Broadhurst pointed out that “the government of Ukraine, USAID, and other organizations have worked for years to improve access to safe drinking water and to restore critical water infrastructure.” The war has not just hampered much of the progress that had been made but upended it. As Weinthal observed, what is happening in Ukraine is “development in reverse.”

Yet efforts are continuing, especially since international aid is critical to a process that Truffaut described as “bridging the gap between humanitarian and development needs, [and] preparing the ground for large projects and reform.”

This is especially true in the parts of Ukraine where a lack of active conflict offers hope of recovery. Vankovych called on Ukraine’s Western partners to provide the necessary resources to help modernize the water systems, build an international donor system, and assist with joining the “international water partnership.” While military aid is critical to ensuring Ukraine’s survival in the short term, only long-term investment and sustained aid will build a stronger and more resilient future. 

Looking to the Future

The UN Water Conference that will be held in New York in March 2023 offers another opportunity to grapple with these issues, and Risi asked the panelists about their hopes for that meeting—both in light of the challenges facing Ukraine and in the larger arc of the global water and conflict nexus.

Truffaut highlighted the broader impact of climate change on water and conflict around the world, as well as the need to duplicate “sustainable actions” taken in Ukraine in other areas of the world. Centering the conversation on the current conflict, Broadhurst articulated aspirational hopes for the conference to promote “windows of silence” in conflict zones, thereby offering a practical safe haven for workers to make repairs and provide humanitarian aid to areas where aid cannot reach.

The broader humanitarian impacts of the targeting of Ukrainian water infrastructure are devastating and should not only be the focus of relief efforts moving forward, but also after the war has ended. As much as the war has taken away, says Vankovych, it can also offer “the possibility to rebuild the whole model of the water industry.” And a more robust water system will provide the foundation for rebuilding a more resilient future for Ukraine.