When the familiar world crumbles around you, the simplest things acquire the highest value. A glass of clean water, hot soup for a child, a sip of tea in the morning—all of these become anchors when the ground is literally slipping from beneath your feet.
The village of Novomykolaivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is currently on the edge. The grey zone is just 22 kilometers away, and the occupied territories are 30 kilometers away. As of June 2026, this village is the closest to the front line and the most dangerous water distribution point for the DCA-NCA team in Ukraine.
The scale of destruction in Novomykolaivka is staggering: it is difficult to find a single intact building in the village center. All administrative structures have been turned into ruins. Along with the bricks, the war shatters human lives. What once seemed distant now breathes down people’s necks daily in the form of heavy artillery, missiles, KABs (guided aerial bombs), and relentless drones.
The village is enveloped in a heavy silence, routinely shattered by explosions. Many have been forced to leave to save what is most precious—their lives. Yet, people still remain here. They cling to their native land against all odds.
The main activity around the two established drinking water distribution points begins in the morning—while it is still quiet. Throughout the day, local authorities frequently issue warnings about imminent heavy strikes, causing the streets to empty instantly. Safety comes first.
Due to continuous shelling of the energy infrastructure and grids, the centralized water supply in the village is unstable. When the power goes out, the water vanishes too. But even when it flows from the taps, its quality remains purely technical. Purified water has become a true lifesaver for the locals.
When there is electricity, there is water; when there isn’t, the tap is empty. But even then, it’s bad purified tap water, so the purified water at the distribution points is a lifesaver for us. I don’t just collect water for myself and my grandmother. I come by car and fetch it for all my relatives living in the village—it’s easier that way. These points help out immensely. Especially now.shared Stanislav, who lives and works in Novomykolaivka.
For Yuriy, this distribution point is also a place of personal pain. Just nearby stood the house of his relatives, which was completely destroyed by a Russian Shahed drone attack. Now, every time he collects water, he looks at what has been done to that home.
“I collect water twice a week; we try to stock up because when the power is out, there is no water at all. This point is very timely, much needed, and the water tastes great. Before this, Dnipro water was delivered to my yard, but it was technical—it left limescale on everything. After your water, there is no limescale at all,”says Yuriy, a local resident.
Despite colossal security risks, the DCA-NCA team in Ukraine, in partnership with CAMINO and funded by NORAD continues to regularly maintain both drinking water distribution points in Novomykolaivka. Our goal is to secure people’s basic right to clean water, which they can use to cook food for themselves and their children.
We cannot stop the shelling, but we can be there. We work to ensure that every resident of front-line Novomykolaivka feels that they are remembered, supported, and will not be left alone with this harsh reality.
About the project
This humanitarian project is dedicated to restoring access to clean, purified drinking water for civilians, the initiative establishes and regularly maintains vital water distribution points in frontline settlements, ensuring that remaining residents can meet their basic human needs despite severe damage to critical infrastructure.
The project is implemented with the generous support of the Government of Norway through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
