Factors influencing the right of citizens to safe drinking water in the context of war

The full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine had a devastating effect on the essential infrastructure, including water supply and treatment systems, exacerbating the triple humanitarian, economic and environmental crisis. Preliminary damage assessments demonstrate that the costs of this infrastructure may amount to billions of dollars, and that complete overhaul of many systems and change of approaches will be necessary. Only a fraction of the water and environmental impacts is explored so far, and these are likely to exacerbate in the coming years. Widespread devastation brought forth by war caused both deterioration and physical losses of water resources especially in the regions, where drinking water is scarce.