Residents say they do not have enough water for their basic needs while officials raise alarm as infections grow.

Kyiv, Ukraine – To extract water from tree leaves, branches are wrapped in a plastic bag for several hours. The evaporated liquid is drinkable after boiling.

That is not a survivalist tip, but a life hack from the Russia-occupied part of the parched Donbas region in Ukraine’s southeast that went viral in recent months.

The majority of the region’s estimated population of 3.5 million people are believed to be suffering from a worsening man-made drought after years of shelling destroyed the arid region’s sophisticated water supply system, according to residents, Moscow-backed separatist authorities and Ukrainian officials.

Meanwhile, uncontrolled mining is poisoning the remaining water sources with chemicals, methane, carcinogens and radioactive isotopes. Experts have warned that the Donbas has turned into a “ticking environmental bomb”.

The most ‘complicated’ challenge

“We’re slowly dying of thirst,” Anna, a 29-year-old mother of two in the city of Donetsk told Al Jazeera.

She withheld her last name because contacts with foreign media could land her in a detention centre, where people have reported torture and killings.

“Instead of taking a bath or a shower, the kids wipe themselves with a wet cloth,” Anna said.