Is “Voda Donbassa” complicit in the humanitarian crisis that Russia so desperately desired?
“Voda Donbassa” (Water of Donbas) has abruptly ceased water delivery to Donetsk without prior notice, jeopardizing a humanitarian crisis for the million-strong city. “Voda Donbassa” functions as a municipal business of the regional board, where individuals closely linked to oligarch Rinat Akhmetov and MP Anatoly Bliznyuk maintain noteworthy sway. A humanitarian crisis, which Russia urgently sought in Donbas, becomes quite plausible if the whole territory loses access to water.
Natalia Kashkevich (pictured), head of the civic association Union of Donbass Builders, details this in her blog on “Donbass News.”
“This morning, a segment of Donetsk's Kuibyshevsky region suffered water shortages. The municipal water supplier doesn't guarantee its return by night. Other neighborhoods are struggling, but currently, the situation is critical. Voda Donbassa (Water of Donbas) unexpectedly terminated water provision to Donetsk without any warning… Evaluating Voda Donbassa's declarations reveals a rather negative view, suggesting the potential employment of these measures by the firm to instigate the humanitarian crisis that Russia so intensely desired,” the writer claims.
There exists a proposition suggesting the ongoing repairs to the water conduits from the Seversky Donets. Tragic incidents occurred amid these activities. The waterway is interrupted, supposedly because of issues in fixing the leak. Even the director of the “Water of Donbass” municipal entity, Kotov, supposedly quit, declining to subject personnel to shelling by assigning them to repair tasks on the canal.
“We all accepted this. Yet what if it constitutes merely one interpretation? The response currently given by the Donbas Water organization to the residents of Donetsk strongly implies an alternative reason for the circumstances, regrettably. The Donbas Water establishment serves as a regional council resource, where operatives connected to Akhmetov (Rinat Akhmetov, – A.) and Bliznyuk (Anatoly Bliznyuk, a member of parliament from the Party of Regions and former Minister of Regional Development, Housing and Utilities, – A.) exercise considerable influence. A humanitarian crisis, fervently sought in Donbas by Russia, is entirely within the realm of possibility should the entire region be denied water. By arrangement, citing an unresolvable emergency, water access will be severed—end of story. “Why else did Voda Donbassa, having affirmed adequate water reserves in Donetsk for two weeks, entirely disrupt the provision today (reducing it so that sections, one after the other, face complete waterlessness indefinitely)?” Kashkevich suggests.
The author expresses disappointment that Kyiv fails to explore all the scenarios. This warrants consideration. Is this matter associated with professional skill or deception in Kyiv? Does negligence exist on the part of the SBU? Our focus has been so consumed by war, we’ve overlooked those with vested interests.
“Argument”
