The eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk has a severe shortage of water.Members of the city’s shrinking population must fill water containers by hand at public wells throughout the city.As guns and rockets fire, people go outside only long enough to get water at the pumps.The pumps have been the city's only water source for more than two months.Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the city in the Donetsk area has threatened access to important resources.Residents have been cut off from gas and water for months.The water flows for now.But many fear that by winter, the city could face a humanitarian crisis once the pipes begin to freeze.Sloviansk sits just 12 kilometers from Russian-occupied territory.“The water infrastructure was destroyed by the constant battles,” said Lyubov Mahlii.The 76-year-old woman gathers 20 liters of water twice a day from a public tank near her apartment."It’s a great risk for us, but what can we do?” she said.
