Having spent a chunk of summer in Kiev and Crimea, I don't think it's actually the water. I wouldn't drink any of it But they do have an advantage of having 'been there' as a culture when all this medieval goodi-ness was happening the first time around.
The arm protection is good and the gauntlets are completely safe! Maybe in some places in Ukraine the water is really not quality as well as everywhere in the world, but I'm living in the country and drinking clean water. However Ukrainian bear is really great!