UNICEF: Nearly 2 dozen attacks on water supply systems in Donbas recorded since year’s start –

Since the beginning of 2019, some 19 attacks on water supply systems in Donbas have already been recorded. The UN Children’s Fund UNICEF has called to stop the aggression.

“In 2018 alone, water supply systems were disrupted 89 times by the ongoing hostilities causing sufferings of millions of local people. Another 19 such cases have already been recorded in the first three months of 2019 … UNICEF calls on governments and partners to stop attacks on water supply facilities and employees,” the UNICEF Ukraine said on Friday.

The UN Children’s Fund noted that the ongoing hostilities create obstacles to the necessary repair of water supply systems in Donbas.

“Over 30 water workers have been killed or injured since the beginning of the conflict,” the fund said.

Ukraine has been included for the first time in the global report of the Children’s Fund on drinking water issues.

“Every day, over 3.6 million people in conflict-affected Donetsk and Luhansk regions are threatened with losing their access to safe drinking water. Continuous direct and indirect shelling of essential infrastructure hinders people’s access to water. Lack of clean water and proper sanitation gravely affect children and their future,” the UNICEF said.

“With support from the Government of Germany, UNICEF and its partners are providing emergency assistance, and carrying out critical repairs and upgrades to keep water running in eastern Ukraine,” the fund said.