Russia targets Ukraine’s data centers as attacks disrupt internet access for 100,000 households

What just happened? It appears that Russia has followed in Iran’s footsteps and decided to target data centers in its hostilities. A Russian drone hit a business centre in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, killing four people and damaging a data center, which Russia later confirmed had been a target.

The September 25 attack struck Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said seven people were injured, including a child, while three of those killed were found in a parking lot outside the building. The blast damaged the facade and shattered windows.

The facility belonged to Ukrainian telecommunications company Datagroup. It said none of its employees were injured and customer data remained safe. Services continued operating from backup sites, with specialists assessing the damage and working to restore the infrastructure.

“All this affects people’s ability to stay connected, study, work,” said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a social media post. He also wrote, “The Russians are constantly expanding their escalation operation: American and other businesses, data centers, internet providers – for Russia, all ordinary life is simply a target. It is important that the world responds to all of this and that Russia feels the response to its terror.”

Russia’s defence ministry acknowledged the strike, claiming the data center processed and transmitted intelligence for Ukraine’s armed forces. Moscow also claimed attacks on facilities operated by New Telco, United DC, Kyivstar, and Parkovyi earlier in the week.

Ukraine’s digital transformation ministry said around 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region experienced internet problems following Wednesday’s attack, which damaged infrastructure belonging to providers Pavutyna and UTELS.

Some companies are already moving data from damaged servers to facilities outside Ukraine, according to the BBC, helping businesses keep their digital infrastructure beyond the reach of Russian strikes.

Losing connectivity in a war zone is obviously more serious than being unable to stream Netflix. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strikes disrupted access to mobile air raid warnings. Banks, online payments, businesses, and government services also depend on the infrastructure now coming under attack.

There is some reassurance, however. The Institute for the Study of War’s September 25 assessment cited Ukrainian officials reporting no indications of damage to military or state communications. Providers also said Ukraine’s extensive, distributed networks make a complete internet shutdown unlikely, although repairs could push up customers’ bills.

Data centers are becoming a common target in conflicts. It was reported earlier this month that Iran’s attacks on Amazon’s Middle Eastern infrastructure left AWS unable to recover resources and data hosted exclusively in its Bahrain region. Resources in one UAE availability zone were also destroyed. Datagroup’s backups appear to have prevented a similar data-loss disaster in Ukraine.

Back in July, Iran claimed it had destroyed Amazon’s main data hub in Bahrain with cruise missiles. Tehran had also threatened the Stargate AI data center in Abu Dhabi, backed by OpenAI and Nvidia.

Image credit: DSNS Kyiv