Russian forces have launched a systematic campaign against Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, striking data centers, internet exchange points, and telecommunications providers across Kyiv and regional hubs. The attacks, which intensified through September, have knocked roughly 100,000 households offline and disrupted critical civilian systems, including electronic transport boards and smartphone-based air raid warnings.
Russian Strikes Target Ukrainian Data Centers and Internet Providers, Threatening Civilian Infrastructure
The offensive marks a tactical shift toward degrading the commercial digital networks that underpin daily civic life. While government processing sites have historically faced targeting in military conflicts, the deliberate destruction of civilian internet infrastructure at this scale mirrors tactics previously seen in March when commercial data centers were targeted during an Iranian response to a U.S. bombing campaign.
Cascade Outages Hit Kyiv Internet Exchange Points
The strikes have heavily impacted shared co-location data centers that house core equipment for multiple internet service providers simultaneously. On September 23, Russian jet-powered drones struck central traffic exchanges in Kyiv, causing immediate network failures across several providers, according to reports from NetBlocks and local telecom companies.
Internet provider UTELS reported that its core Kyiv data center lost power during the strikes, temporarily disrupting service before emergency crews restored connections to most customers within two hours. Network operator Pavutyna suffered more severe damage when a data center housing its equipment was struck, taking nearly half of its network offline. Crazy Network confirmed that a central traffic exchange strike disrupted internet and phone services not only in Kyiv but also across the Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions.
Additional companies reporting infrastructure damage or destruction across recent strikes include:
- Datagroup: A central Kyiv office housing telecom and data center operations was hit on September 25, resulting in four deaths and forcing the company to run services from backup sites.
- New-Telco and United DC: Data center facilities targeted in strikes claimed by Russia’s Defense Ministry, which alleged military intelligence use.
- UTELS, Crazy Network, and Etherlink: Providers reporting damage to main network nodes and core transmission equipment.
- MiroHost and CityHost: Hosting providers that lost equipment stored inside destroyed Kyiv data facilities.
Air Raid Warning Systems and Civilian Safety at Risk
The loss of connectivity has severed the feedback loop required for civilian safety notifications. Ukraine’s air raid alert system delivers missile and drone warnings directly to residents via smartphone push notifications and messaging applications like Telegram. When data centers hosting core ISP routing equipment are destroyed, households in those zones lose the internet access required to receive incoming threat alerts.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attacks on civilian networks, stating that rapid alerts about missile and drone threats are essential to saving lives. He rejected Russian claims that the targeted facilities served military purposes, emphasizing that the infrastructure remains critical to keeping everyday civilian life functioning. President Volodymyr Zelensky similarly framed the campaign as an assault on ordinary life, noting that internet providers and data centers are being systematically targeted to impair work, study, and communication.
Network Resilience and Decentralized Architecture
Despite the widespread damage, Ukrainian officials emphasize that the country’s decentralized network architecture has successfully prevented a nationwide blackout. Serhii Beskrestnov, Zelensky’s top adviser on defense technologies, acknowledged that local disruptions will occur and that internet costs may rise to cover urgent repairs, but stressed that the country will not be left without internet access.
Anatolii Frolenkov of the 1-IX internet exchange point noted that while attacks on communications infrastructure are not entirely new, the September escalation represents a change in intensity. Providers are increasingly relying on network redundancy—duplicating equipment, routing traffic through backup nodes, and transferring core data across international borders—to mitigate the impact of ongoing strikes.