Press Statement
Department Spokesperson
The United States condemns yesterday’s shooting of civilian employees of the Donetsk Filtration Station in Ukraine, which left five individuals wounded. The filtration station has temporarily shut down following the incident. In addition to endangering the lives of innocent civilians, this attack threatened water supplies for almost 350,000 Ukrainians living on both sides of the line of contact.
Yesterday’s incident follows closely shelling that severely damaged power lines near water pumping stations in the Donetsk region, which has endangered water supplies to over three million people. We urge Russia-led forces and Ukrainian Armed Forces to allow for maintenance workers to conduct repairs and prevent a new humanitarian crisis. We further call on all forces to withdraw from positions around the Donetsk Filtration Station and other critical civilian infrastructure.
The Department takes this opportunity to repeat its call on Russia to withdraw its forces from eastern Ukraine and fully implement its commitments under the Minsk agreements. As Russia instigated this conflict and continues to arm, train, lead, and fight alongside its proxy forces in the Donbas, Russia bears the responsibility for the worsening humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine.
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