Russian ballistic strike destroys Kyiv data center beyond repair, operator says
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight on October 19 destroyed a data center operated by Ukrainian telecommunications company Datagroup, leaving its equipment and infrastructure beyond repair.
"The equipment and infrastructure of the Datagroup data center have been completely disabled as a result of the overnight ballistic attack," the company said in a statement.
Datagroup said restoring the facility or resuming operations there was impossible. No employees were injured, and the company continues providing services to customers through backup facilities.
Repeated attacks on digital infrastructure
The destruction follows a series of Russian attacks on Ukraine's telecommunications and data infrastructure since late September.
On September 23, approximately 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region experienced internet disruptions following Russian strikes. Datagroup reported damage to one of its data centers the following day.
Russian attacks on September 25 and 26 also hit a data center operated by Cosmonova in Kyiv, disrupting the operations of several Ukrainian media outlets.
Another major Kyiv data center, Parkovyi, suspended operations on October 1 following Russian attacks.
Ukraine has since announced additional measures to protect data centers and critical telecommunications infrastructure. The government allocated 518.3 million hryvnias ($12 million) from its reserve fund to strengthen backup information systems for state institutions.
Russia's Defense Ministry has openly acknowledged targeting Ukrainian data centers, describing the strikes as a "digital detox." It published an image of a Shahed attack drone alongside the phrase "Digital detox, enforced."
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