Attacks on water supply systems: can Russians leave Ukraine without water?
Kyiv • UNN
Russia is attacking Ukraine's water supply infrastructure. Expert Andriy Kramarov assessed the risks and protection capabilities in the context of limited air defense resources.
Russian troops have begun to attack Ukrainian water supply infrastructure. Thus, the enemy plans to leave Ukrainian cities without water.
Andriy Kramarov, a reserve officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and military expert, commented for UNN on the risks of possible Russian strikes on water supply systems and the real possibilities of protecting them in conditions of limited air defense resources.
Threat of attacks on water supply: what is behind the information noise
Recently, many reports have appeared in the public space that Russia may be preparing strikes on water supply systems, especially in large cities. According to the expert, such a threat is indeed being discussed, but its scale and the enemy's real capabilities are often exaggerated.
"Now there is talk that the Russians are preparing to hit water supply and this could pose a great threat to cities, especially large ones. So far, I do not see that they have real opportunities to leave cities completely without water," Kramarov noted.
Limited air defense capabilities as a key problem for Ukraine
The expert calls the lack of anti-aircraft missile systems a key factor in protecting critical infrastructure. It is currently physically impossible to completely cover such branched systems as water supply.
How to really protect the water supply system, given that it is a large and serious system, and how to cover it completely, as much as possible? We simply do not have enough systems. First of all, anti-aircraft missile systems
He emphasized that even with modern air defense systems, their number does not allow for continuous protection of all critical facilities.
The role of Western systems and gratitude to partners
Separately, the expert drew attention to the assistance of Western partners who supply Ukraine with modern air defense systems.
The Patriot system is very effective, special thanks to the Germans for supplying us with IRIS-T, the NASAMS system also copes very well with enemy missiles. All this is very good, but the question is in quantity. Although the Russians failed to create total darkness in Ukraine, we still had big problems. The same can happen with water supply systems. It will not be possible to destroy everything completely, but there may be problems
Aviation as an important element of defense
According to Kramarov, aviation played a large role in repelling the latest massive attacks, the use of which became possible due to improved weather conditions.
It is very good that now the weather allows us to use aviation more actively. The last major Russian attacks, which we repelled as well as possible, were due to the fact that we could use aviation. This is also an important factor that can save us in this situation as well
He explained that during the winter, aviation capabilities were significantly limited due to the weather, and this created additional risks for the air defense system.
We could not use it almost from the end of December 2025, because the weather conditions did not allow it at all
Is a scenario of prolonged dehydration of cities possible?
Assessing the risk that large cities, including Kyiv, could be left without water for a long time, the expert noted that such a scenario currently seems unlikely.
If we talk about energy, as we see, the Russians still failed in their plan for a total blackout. Here, most likely, it will be the same
He admitted that theoretically, strikes on water supply are possible, but in practice, the enemy is limited by resources.
Theoretically, it is possible. However, today, given the number of their resources, it will be difficult. Separate difficulties, yes, but to completely take out our water - it will not work. It requires a lot of means for this. I want to repeat, the Russians failed to arrange a total blackout. Here, I think, the situation is approximately the same
Thus, according to the military expert, the threat of attacks on water supply systems exists, but currently it is not critical, and the main deterrent factor remains a combination of air defense, aviation, and Russia's limited capabilities to implement such scenarios.