Матеріали автора Valeriia Pavlenko

It’s 8:30 on Monday morning. The sound of an air raid alarm pierces Kyiv, but since the city has not been hit by the missiles for a long time, people proceed with the start of the working week as usual. Someone makes breakfast, irons clothes and gets kids ready for school. Someone, despite the sirens, is already on the way to work. At the same time, dozens of Russian missiles are approaching the capital. The first explosion is heard — the rocket hit the city centre.

Since the middle of April, the second most populous regional center in southern Ukraine has been living without a centralized supply of drinking water, while the tap water is only suitable for toilets. The reason for this is a water pipeline that was cut off by the Russians, which stretches for more than 70 km from the Dnipro, and which had been supplying Mykolaiv with drinking water for more than 40 years. As long as the majority of the water line is in the occupied territory, it is impossible to repair it. TEXTY researched whether it was possible to establish an alternative water supply in three months and how the situation may be solved in the long-term perspective. Translated by Dmitry Lytov, Mike Lytov