In Russia’s war in Ukraine, both sides have attacked water supplies

Shortly after Vladimir Putin began his bloody invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers destroyed a dam in the Kherson oblast that had blocked water from flowing into Crimea. The move was symbolic as well as utilitarian. Ukraine built the dam in 2014 after Russia annexed the peninsula, cutting off more than 80% of Crimea’s water supply and crippling harvests. This is not the first time water has played a role in Ukraine’s relationship with its neighbour. For years before the invasion, fighting in separatist areas of eastern Ukraine frequently damaged water infrastructure. When shrapnel hit a pipeline in 2019 more than 3m people were left without water.