Russia has opened a new front in its campaign against Ukraine, targeting several data centers and internet service providers in Kyiv this week, in what appears to be an effort to weaken the digital infrastructure underpinning Ukraine’s economy.
Around 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region were temporarily left without internet access following attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
On Friday, another drone attack in central Kyiv struck the offices of Datagroup, one of Ukraine’s largest telecommunications companies. Four people were killed in the attack.
“Russia has targeted key data centers in Ukraine, seeking to disrupt the flow of information,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Polish authorities reported that a Starlink satellite station in central Poland, which provides services to Ukraine, had caught fire. Local officials described the incident as an “act of sabotage” linked to Moscow.
Russia has previously attacked data centers in Ukraine, but Ukrainian authorities say the latest strikes are unprecedented in scale.
Keeping the country connected to the internet and communications networks has been a priority for the Ukrainian government throughout the war. Authorities have sought ways to ensure that internet and mobile operators have backup power supplies and can continue operating during prolonged electricity outages.
Ukraine’s relatively decentralized internet network makes it more difficult for individual attacks to cause widespread and prolonged outages across entire cities or regions.
However, as winter approaches, officials and industry representatives have expressed concern that repeated Russian attacks could damage the networks that keep banks, payment systems and public services operating across Ukraine.
“I recommend that Kyiv residents gradually prepare for winter by securing Starlink terminals or other means of maintaining communications,” Serhii Sternenko, a well-known blogger and former government adviser, wrote on X.
According to him, Russia’s objective is not only to target the capital’s energy infrastructure, but also to destroy data centers and internet operators.
The attacks come at a time when Russia has intensified strikes against Ukraine’s economy, using missiles and new drones equipped with jet engines to target warehouses, fuel depots, ports and other commercial infrastructure.
These attacks are placing additional pressure on the Ukrainian economy, which has already been strained by nearly five years of full-scale war.
