Israeli humanitarian aid organization IsraAID has provided four reverse osmosis water filtration systems to the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, about 130 kilometers east of Odessa.
Mykolaiv has seen its water infrastructure severely damaged in the fighting with Russia.
Working in collaboration with the Mykolaiv municipality, the Israeli water sanitation systems will restore safe drinking water to many of the city’s 476,000 residents.
Mykolaiv was also hit with heavy shelling early Sunday, according to local officials quoted by CNN, who said at least one person was killed and two others were injured.
Oleksii Vadaturskyi, 74, owns the major grain trading company Nibulon — but he was killed during Russian shelling in Mykolaiv on Saturday night (July 30), according to Ukrainska Pravda, quoting Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration.
“It has been confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that a Russian shell hit Vadaturskyi’s house, and his wife was also killed,” the news outlet reported. “It’s true; their house was hit. The wife’s body has already been taken out,” Kim said, lamenting the loss.
“Vadaturskyi has done a lot for Mykolaiv Oblast and for Ukraine. His contribution to the development of the agricultural and shipbuilding industry and the development of the region has been invaluable.”
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Sunday as shelling resumed that windows were blown out and balconies were destroyed by cluster munitions. A CNN team on the ground verified the claims, saying they heard the explosions and saw the fires that resulted from the Russian air strikes.
Mykolaiv residents have for months had difficulty obtaining safe water, IsraAID noted, adding that the local water is unsuitable for drinking. The scarcity of potable water poses a major public health risk as high summer temperatures set in.
Last Thursday, Mykolaiv Deputy Mayor for Housing and Communal Services Sergey Korenev celebrated the arrival of the Israeli water sanitation systems at a news conference in the city.
Water systems are being installed in four neighborhood administration centers and will restore access to safe drinking water in those areas.
Korenev told reporters that all Mykolaiv residents will have free, round-the-clock access to the systems, and that they will be fully functional within three hours of installation.
IsraAID will provide ongoing technical support to local officials, partnering in the project with MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, and the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine.
The NGO is also opening new offices in Kyiv and Odessa.
“Access to safe water is a basic human right and essential to community resilience,” said IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer.
“From the first days of this conflict, IsraAID teams have been working to bring aid to affected people…Through this collaboration with the Municipality of Mykolaiv, we will utilize IsraAID’s professional expertise in water, sanitation, and hygiene to meet the urgent needs of this strong, resilient community in the face of crisis. We are grateful to all of our partners in this mission.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is ordering civilians to evacuate the eastern Donetsk region as the fighting there intensifies.
“The more people who leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” Zelensky said.
Hundreds of thousands of civilian still reportedly live in the Donetsk region, including many who are simply, physically, unable to leave.
