Russia’s latest systematic strikes on data centers in Ukraine are causing temporary problems for hundreds of thousands of subscribers, forcing the authorities to take additional security measures. At the same time, experts emphasize that because of providers’ autonomy and the decentralized architecture, the aggressor country will not be able to completely shut down communications in the country, UNN reports.
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Starting last week, Russia began systematically striking data centers in Kyiv, claiming that they "provide communications services and computing power for the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
For example, on September 23, Russia struck the "Parkovyi" ICC, resulting in internet problems for approximately 100,000 households in Kyiv and the region.
On September 26, the COSMONOVA data center, which the Russians struck twice in one day, announced that it would no longer operate due to extensive damage. The company is containing the consequences, relocating and restoring services.
The Cosmonova data center in Kyiv ceased operations after a Russian strike26.09.26, 18:37
Following a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced strengthened protection for data centers and other facilities in the communications sector.
"Additional decisions were also made to protect and guarantee the uninterrupted operation of our data center infrastructure and other facilities that are critically important in the communications sector. These decisions must be fully implemented at all levels, and this is the personal responsibility of government officials and the heads of the special services," the President said.
In a comment to UNN, digital technology expert Oleksandr Hlushchenko explained that a data center is a facility where racks with hard drives are located, where data and databases are stored, and from which services are distributed. He emphasizes that a data center is a separate type of activity; an internet provider/telecom operator represents other types of activity, each with its own infrastructure and network architecture, and they should not be confused with one another.
Hlushchenko said that Russia is primarily trying to destroy the economic component—businesses that create jobs and pay taxes, through which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are financed by taxpayers.
"At the same time, they are waging a cognitive war against Ukrainians: when ‘everything is bad, everything is lost, Zelenskyy, Poroshenko, Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko are to blame—anyone but Russia and the Russians.’ And kinetic strikes on data centers and sites with operators’ equipment will lead to the fact that for some time, until repairs or the restoration of operations take place, communications may degrade for those operators whose backbone network or equipment has been damaged. There may also be some degradation in access to data that was in a given data center, whether it was destroyed or damaged," Hlushchenko said.
At the same time, the expert notes that, as a rule, a data center must have several power connections, generators, and redundant internet connectivity (access to the network). Data is generally stored in the cloud, with copies kept at other data centers, and not always in Ukraine.
"Therefore, in the event of the physical destruction of the infrastructure, time is simply needed for restoration. For example, last week, after a kinetic strike, my personal website… one of the data centers was not operating for two days. The hosting provider simply deployed the backups at another site, and it resumed operation," the expert said.
Hlushchenko reassures people that a complete shutdown of the internet in Ukraine is not possible.
"Look, don’t listen to charlatans. There cannot be communication disruptions in Ukraine. It is physically impossible to destroy the internet in Ukraine. It is simply physically impossible for one straightforward reason: Ukraine has never had a Ministry of the Internet; a thousand enterprises have always operated in Ukraine providing communications services. As a rule, these are their own channels, their own server sites with equipment, their own connections to backbone operators, data centers, internet exchange points, and peering connections with other operators. Therefore, it is physically impossible to destroy the internet in Ukraine," the expert emphasizes.
He adds that there may be disruptions in a certain part of the network of the operator that was affected by a kinetic strike, and until it is restored, there may be some degradation in access to the data located in the data center.
"It is possible. But for the connection to actually deteriorate... one would have to ask what ‘connection’ means. For some people, ‘Ukr.net’ is the entire internet, while for others, Facebook is the entire internet, and they go no further. But that is not the internet. The internet is a large decentralized network with a host of participants connected to one another by communication cables, exchanging data among themselves like a web," the expert notes.
Hlushchenko noted that if problems with access to the internet arise in the future, and if someone needs network access, they should have at least two SIM cards.
"If one (operator — ed.) has connection problems, or a base station goes down or is destroyed, then at least there is a second one. If we are talking about a household, there is an opportunity… because there is high competition in Ukraine, and at a minimum, a subscriber has the option of connecting... at least several other service providers operate in their area — these are internet operators. Connect a second fiber-optic provider; rely on fiber optics. If we are talking about Starlink, this is a subscriber-side solution. Those who say that we will now install Starlink at an OSBB [condominium association] and provide everyone with internet simply do not understand that, in fact, they are trying to build a provider. At a minimum, Starlink should be the entry point for the internet — this is called an uplink — and a distribution network, which physically does not exist, must be built in the building. Therefore, Starlink is an individual means of accessing the internet. If someone does not want to bother, has the money and the technical possibility, they can purchase Starlink for themselves. But there is one small ‘but’: if, say, a data center hosting a particular website is damaged by a kinetic strike and the website is currently not working, then whether it is Starlink, fiber optics, or mobile internet, there will still be no access to it, because the source itself is offline," the expert concluded.