President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Russia has expanded its attacks to target Ukraine's data centres and internet providers. He said these strikes aim to cause maximum disruption for ordinary people, affecting their ability to stay connected, study, and work.
On Friday, a Russian drone hit a business centre in Kyiv, resulting in four fatalities and damage to a data centre. A separate attack also killed a 14-year-old boy, identified by Israel's foreign ministry as an Israeli citizen. Russia confirmed it had targeted a data centre site, claiming it was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence.
Approximately 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region experienced internet outages on Wednesday due to these strikes. Officials in Lutsk reported that electronic information boards at public transport stops were not functioning on Friday, attributing this to damage from a Russian attack on data centres in Kyiv.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russia is attempting to disrupt the flow of "life-saving information" by targeting data centres, which he described as critical civilian infrastructure. While a top adviser on defence technologies acknowledged potential local disruptions and increased internet service costs for repairs, he stressed that Ukraine's decentralised internet network would prevent a complete loss of access.
The latest data centre hit, run by Datagroup, is assessing damage, though services are operating from backup sites. Russia's defence ministry confirmed hitting the Datagroup site and also stated its forces have targeted other data processing and telecommunications centres in Ukraine, including New-Telco, United DC, Kyivstar, and Parkovyi.