Russian Drone Strikes Hit Ukrainian Data Centers as Kyiv Seeks More Air Defense
Russian jet-powered drone strikes have disrupted mobile and Internet services for thousands in Ukraine, prompting officials to seek more air defense as attacks on Kyiv data centers intensify.
The attacks on Ukrainian telecommunications infrastructure have focused on Kyiv since Sept. 23, according to the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders. Ukraine's digital transformation ministry reported that 100,000 households in the Kyiv region temporarily experienced Internet outages from the initial strikes. Russia has since intensified its strike campaign against major Ukrainian data centers and mobile phone networks in recent weeks.
Tetiana Gaviuk, an analyst for Europe at ACLED, wrote on Oct. 1 that Russian attacks on Ukraine's telecommunications infrastructure are not new. She said strikes and shelling had previously damaged fiber optic lines, cell towers, and facilities belonging to mobile network companies.
Gaviuk said the recent concentrated attacks on Kyiv's data centers and telecom networks stand out because multiple providers and facilities were hit within days. She described the pattern as an indication of Russia's increased pressure on Ukraine's digital infrastructure.
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have warned that such telecommunication outages could threaten Ukraine's digital economy and undermine the country's ongoing resistance to Russia's invasion. They have pointed to the strikes as evidence of the need for additional air defense capabilities.