From Emergency Aid to Sustainable Support: Addressing Ukraine's Water Crisis Amidst Ongoing War
Published: Mar 24, 2025 Reading time: 4 minutes Share: Share an articleThe war has turned water, once taken for granted in Ukraine, into a resource to be fought for. Russian attacks have destroyed thousands of kilometres of water pipes, damaged pumping stations, and caused power cuts. Consequently, 9.6 million people in Ukraine urgently need water and sanitation services. The situation is most critical in the eastern and southern regions, where 71% of people in frontline communities lack critical access to quality water.
Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, we have been looking for ways to provide water to those affected. From emergency supplies of bottled water to upgrading networks and installing renewable energy systems, we are implementing comprehensive and sustainable systems to ensure the long-term resilience of communities.
At PIN Ukraine, we work to ensure immediate support to people; for example, we delivered bottled water to residents the day after Russia destroyed the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in 2023.
When water supplies are cut off, every minute counts. Our Rapid Response Mechanism delivers water in bottles and tankers, and we also provide storage tanks—to ensure enduring supplies. In 2024 and 2025, more than 21,500 people received bottled water, including residents of frontline communities in Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Sumy, Donetsk, and Dnipro oblasts.
We are also distributing hygiene kits and running support programmes to allow people to buy essential items themselves. This supports local markets and allows families to buy exactly what they need.
“People in Need is the only organisation that has been providing care products for adults with special needs for over a year. These are very necessary and expensive items that many people cannot do without. In our village, even with the money, there is often nowhere to buy them. That's why this support is so important,” said Oleksandr Sivak, a village elder in Vyshetarasivka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Humanitarian aid is not only about emergency response but also about strategic recovery. To ensure uninterrupted water supplies to affected communities, we are rehabilitating and upgrading water networks, pumping stations, artesian wells, reservoirs, and water treatment plants.
“The war has brought serious challenges to Zaporizhzhia's water supply: power cuts, worn-out equipment, and financial difficulties. Thanks to the support of People in Need, we have received a modern frequency converter that will help us to provide a stable water supply to 600,000 people. This is a significant contribution to the sustainability of the city's system,” said Ruslan Buka, head of the operations department at Zaporizhzhia Water Utility.
The equipment we supplied has helped restore water service to 80 settlements. Among them is the village of Luch in the Mykolaiv region. Before the war, 1,200 people lived here; now, less than half that number remains. After nine months of occupation, the village's water network was destroyed. We provided the pipes and spare parts, and we installed a solar station and new pumps. As a result, water is once again available to everyone in the community.
Water supply problems were also exacerbated during the fighting in the village of Polyhon, also in the Mykolaiv region. An analysis showed that the water in the network was contaminated and unfit for consumption. We set up a free pumping station in the centre of the village, where the water goes through several stages of treatment.
“We have installed powerful equipment. The water goes through all stages of purification. That's why people get clean water. Water can be collected around the clock. If there is no electricity, the community is provided with generators,” says Volodymyr Kovyrshyn, WASH engineer at PIN.
In some settlements, we are implementing hybrid renewable energy systems — solar and wind — to ensure stable operation of the water supply stations even in the event of prolonged power outages.
“After People in Need helped us install a solar power system, we were able to provide water to a thousand residents even during power cuts. This is crucial for the stable operation of the wells in the community of Velykooleksandrivka,” says Natalia Kornienko, head of the village administration.
Losing access to water also means losing access to basic hygiene. We are helping to restore sanitary conditions by opening 20 social laundries in frontline towns. These laundries enable thousands of people to live in dignity, even in difficult circumstances. We are also working with utility companies, to provide them with the reagents to purify water, helping to upgrade water treatment systems, and improving hygiene monitoring.
“It is very convenient that washing machines have been installed in our village - we bring in our clothes in the morning and take them out in the afternoon. This is especially important for large items that are difficult to wash by hand at home, especially as the electricity is often cut off. People are happy because, without it, it would be very difficult,” says Larysa, a resident of the village of Muzykivka in the Kherson region.
We work with water utilities and local authorities to ensure effective water supply management, technical training of staff and integration of energy efficiency programmes. We co-chair several working groups within the WASH Cluster, which allows us to promote and implement sustainable modern approaches in the humanitarian sector.
We continue to work to ensure access to clean water in the most challenging environments. Thanks to the generous support of the European Union, as well as the American and Czech people, we are helping Ukrainian communities to survive the crisis, become more resilient and secure a continuous water supply for the future.
