Shmyhal: It is difficult to survive for more than three days without water and sewerage
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- Yuliia BoichenkoReporter
Denys Shmyhal during a visit to the Mykolaiv region in June 2023, photo: Denys Shmyhal/TelegramFirst Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal said that it is difficult to go more than three days without water and sewerage.
He expressed this view in an interview with POLITICO, saying that, in addition to attacks on the power grid and heating systems, Russia would attempt to cut off water supplies to Ukrainian cities.
«Russia’s goal right now is to destroy our water supply. Last winter they attacked the electricity and heating networks, but it is still possible to survive if there is gas and water during the outages. It’s difficult to survive for more than three days without water and sewerage,» said Denys Shmyhal.
He also said that Russia is trying to wear down Ukrainian society so that it puts pressure on the leadership and demands the signing of a surrender.
Mykolaiv following the damage to the water main. A brief history
In early 2022, Russian troops damaged the water pipeline supplying Mykolaiv with water. As a result, the city was left without any water supply for several weeks. The people of Mykolaiv had to collect water for domestic use from the river themselves, whilst volunteers transported drinking water to the city from neighbouring regions.
Subsequently, the water supply was restored from the Inhulets River, but this water could only be used for non-potable purposes due to its high salt content. At the same time, the city began setting up drinking water distribution points.
As a result, the city was left without a centralised supply of high-quality water for four years.
Throughout this time, the residents of Mykolaiv received water from a backup source, which raises many questions about the quality of such water and its salt content. The salty water damaged 1,200 kilometres of the city’s water supply network. «Mykolaivvodokanal» reported that it is impossible to replace the entire length of the network that was damaged by the inflow of salt water.
For a long time, representatives of central and local government sought ways to restore the drinking water supply in Mykolaiv. A final decision was reached in 2024: a new water pipeline would be laid from Nova Odesa, with funding allocated from the state budget.
The new water pipeline for Mykolaiv was commissioned on 7 October 2025 — it was connected to the water utility’s networks.
As early as November, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, stated that drinking water could be available from residents’ taps within half a month to a month. That is precisely how long it would take to complete all work on the treatment facilities and receive the official laboratory reports.
In June 2026, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, stated that despite improvements in water quality following the commissioning of the new water treatment works and water main, it was not yet advisable to drink tap water.
