Mitryasova, O. CHRONICLES OF THIRST: DOCUMENTING MYKOLAIV'S WATER SECURITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN A WAR-AFFECTED CITY: Monograph. Mykolaiv: PMBSNU, 2026, 124 p.

CHRONICLES OF THIRST: DOCUMENTING MYKOLAIV'S WATER SECURITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN A WAR-AFFECTED CITY The caps are made of high-quality plastic (high-density polyethylene, marked "2" or HDPE). This type of plastic is easier to recycle than the bottle itself, and recycling plants pay a higher price for it. Volunteer foundations collected significant amounts of such plastic and handed it over for recycling. The funds received were used to purchase raw materials or pay for the manufacture of prostheses and their components. The collection of caps helped to structure this process, isolating the most valuable plastic for a useful cause. The placement of such "collection points" near the points of water supply was an ideal logistical solution. A person, coming for water, seeing such a bottle-container on the fence, automatically joined the charity. This photo (Fig. 1.32) demonstrates another feature of the Mykolaiv character — the ability to create complex assistance systems from improvised means. An old bottle, a rope and a rusty fence turned into a tool of life. Each bright cap inside (Fig. 1.33) is not just waste, it is a small part of a large contribution to the rehabilitation of the military. For many Mykolaiv residents, this ritual has become familiar: "product" of water, throw the lid of a plastic bottle into a container. It was a tacit confirmation that even in the struggle for basic needs such as water, people did not forget about those who needed help even more. Synchronization of water supply with energy supply schedules and water war culture The military existence of Mykolaiv formed a special type of social interaction — water military culture. Its characteristic feature was the strict dependence of access to the basic resource on the stability of the power system and the temperature regime. During the periods of blackouts and winter cold in 2026, the city's critical infrastructure faced the challenge of "double scarcity": the lack of electricity automatically meant the shutdown of pumps, and the frost turned street pick-up points into ice traps. The analysis of the logistics of the points of invincibility and the issuance of clean water highlights deep technical gaps. The lack of autonomous power sources made it impossible for water points to work uninterruptedly. Under conditions of low temperatures, technological paralysis occurred. Systems froze, requiring a long process of "thawing" during thaws. The level of load on the social sphere during this period became critical, revealing vulnerabilities in the system of informal communications and urban logistics. The thesis "no light, no water" has become the main formula of military life... 62