Russia strikes at heart of Ukraine’s digital economy with attacks on ISPs and datacentres

What Happened

Russia has opened a new front against Ukraine's digital infrastructure, hitting several datacentres and internet providers in Kyiv this week. Strikes on Wednesday and Thursday caused temporary internet outages for about 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region, according to Ukraine's digital transformation ministry. On Friday, a drone strike in central Kyiv hit the offices of Datagroup, one of Ukraine's largest telecommunications companies, killing four people. Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on X that Russia had targeted major Ukrainian datacentres to disrupt the flow of information. The attacks come amid intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's economy. On Thursday, Polish authorities reported that a Starlink satellite station in central Poland serving Ukraine was set on fire and described it as an act of sabotage linked to Moscow. Russian strikes also hit a McDonald's warehouse outside Kyiv and disrupted steel production; this month Ukraine failed to produce a single tonne of steel for the first time in a century, according to a senior industry official. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Donald Trump had approved granting Ukraine licences to produce Patriot air defence missiles.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The attacks target the digital backbone of Ukraine's economy, seeking to disrupt banks, payment systems and public services. They mark a scale of strikes against datacentres not previously seen, and come as Russia intensifies attacks on commercial infrastructure, including a McDonald's warehouse outside Kyiv and steel production. With winter approaching, repeated attacks on internet and energy infrastructure could compound economic strain and civilian hardship.

Watch For

Monitor whether Russian attacks continue to degrade internet and mobile networks as winter sets in, and whether Kyiv's decentralised network can limit prolonged city-wide outages. Watch for further sabotage of Starlink infrastructure in Poland and other NATO territory. Also watch whether the US licence approval announced by President Zelenskyy leads to actual domestic Patriot missile production, though experts caution it could take years.