Reserve Major General Serhiy Kryvonos said this on Espreso TV.“All our attention is focused on the Pokrovsk direction. In my view, as a military man, the main axis of Russian activity is Kostiantynivka and Sloviansk. The primary goal of the Russians is to conduct a Kostiantynivka–Sloviansk offensive operation to fully capture Sloviansk and then take control of the Dnipro–Donbas water canal (an artificial waterway connecting two of Ukraine’s largest rivers — the Dnipro and the Siverskyi Donets). Because the biggest problem currently in Donbas is the lack of a systematic water supply,” Serhiy Kryvonos noted.According to him, although the Russians once built a water pipeline from the Don River to Donbas, most of the allocated funds were stolen, and thus the issue of water supply was never resolved. Residents of occupied Donetsk report that water is available for only a few hours once every three days.“The Russian occupiers are less interested in providing water to the civilian population than in ensuring that enterprises which have resumed operations and are working for Russia’s benefit have water to support their production processes. That’s why the main problem the Russians want to solve is the water issue. And this problem can only be resolved in the Sloviansk direction. The actions Russian forces are carrying out in both the Pokrovsk and Kupiansk directions are quite significant, but I believe that over time the main focus will shift to the Lyman–Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka–Sloviansk directions. Russia will make every effort to bring this situation under control,” the general noted.Earlier, analyst and journalist Serhiy Harmash said that due to water supply problems in the occupied part of Donetsk region, local residents are unable to maintain a normal standard of living, and summer heat is worsening sanitary conditions.On August 1, the OSINT project DeepState reported that Russian forces had made territorial gains in Donetsk region. The occupying Russian army advanced in Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Zelenyi Hai, near Oleksiivka, and Andriivka–Klevtseve.