DONETSK, February 24. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces are advancing, fighting Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Svyatogorsk in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the republic’s head Denis Pushilin said on the Soloviev Live TV channel.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely. You see, fighting is underway on the outskirts of Svyatogorsk, and the Rai-Alexandrovka settlement is currently important for us in terms of water supply," he said.
The DPR head added that the advance in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic is bringing closer a solution to the region’s water supply problem, which has been disrupted by the Kiev regime. "We understand that Slavyansk will be soon liberated, and the Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal will finally be fully operational, and we will be able to have sufficient water," Pushilin concluded.
The Donetsk People’s Republic receives no more than 35% of the required water volume for the population due to the Kiev regime’s disruption of the critical water supply infrastructure for the region, the Seversky Donets-Donbas Canal, which begins in the suburbs of Slavyansk. Since July 2025, scheduled water supplies have been introduced in a number of DPR cities. The authorities are implementing several measures to address the water crisis.