Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has widened its attacks to include data centres and internet providers, arguing that the strikes are intended to disrupt people’s ability to stay connected, study and work.
Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone struck a business centre in Kyiv on Friday, killing four people and damaging a data centre operated by Datagroup. A separate attack killed a 14-year-old boy, according to the BBC. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the broader overnight attacks left seven people dead and 59 injured.
Communications infrastructure under attack
Russia’s defence ministry said it struck the Datagroup site and claimed the facility was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence. The ministry also said Russian forces had targeted other data-processing and telecommunications centres in recent days, including New-Telco and United DC.
Independent reporting on the September 23 attacks also documented damage to internet-provider data centres in Kyiv and widespread service disruption. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said roughly 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region experienced internet problems after the strikes.
Datagroup said services continued from backup locations while specialists assessed the damage.
Ukraine moves to protect critical communications
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said attacks on data centres threatened the flow of emergency information, including missile and drone alerts.
Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence-technology adviser to Zelensky, said local internet disruptions could occur and repair costs could push service prices higher, while arguing that Ukraine’s decentralised network makes a nationwide loss of internet access unlikely.
Zelensky later said additional measures had been approved to protect data centres and other critical communications facilities.
Ukrainian officials describe the communications infrastructure as essential to civilian life, while Russia says at least some of the facilities support military intelligence. Those claims are attributed to the respective sides and are not presented here as independent findings.
