Zelensky Says Russia Is Targeting Ukraine's Data Centres

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia has expanded its bombardment to include Ukraine's data centres and internet providers, after a Russian drone hit an office building in Kyiv, killing four people and cutting off internet service to roughly 100,000 households in the capital region.¹⁷³

Data centres hit

Zelensky said the goal of the strikes was to upend daily routines rather than degrade military strength, noting that the campaign interferes with people's connectivity, schooling and jobs.¹

Russia's defence ministry confirmed it had targeted Datagroup and other data centre sites, including one used by Ukrainian military intelligence. According to the Straits Times, Russia also struck Kyivstar's headquarters and a Vodafone Ukraine data centre on Sunday, and hit a Kyiv data centre twice that morning, wounding two children and one adult; no casualties were reported from the Kyivstar strike.¹³

Newsweek reported that Russian drones struck the Cosmonova data processing centre in Kyiv, which provided mobile internet service and supported Ukraine's use of Starlink. Five people were injured in the wider strikes across the capital, and a Ukrainian television channel halted broadcasts because of the damage.²

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said data centres are critical civilian infrastructure rather than military targets, warning that the strikes threaten early-warning systems. He said: "Russia is going after Ukraine's largest data centres in an effort to choke off the flow of information. Fast warnings of incoming missiles and drones are lifesaving."³

Datagroup said its data centre in Kyiv's Inkom business centre was damaged but that services continued from backup sites and customer data remained secure. The company said: "We ensured infrastructure redundancy, so even after the data center was damaged, we continue to provide our services." Ukraine's internet network is highly decentralised, meaning the country is not expected to lose access entirely.¹⁴

Casualties in Kyiv

The Kyiv Post reported that a Russian drone hit an office building located in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on Friday, leaving four dead and seven wounded, including a child. Russian forces struck the district again, damaging another office building, and a nearby medical facility was also damaged, with three people hospitalised.⁴

Overnight attacks on Friday killed seven people and injured 59 across Kyiv, with 25 people still hospitalised, one in serious condition, the Kyiv Post reported. A separate drone strike hit a 16-storey residential building in the Pechersk district, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring at least seven residents.¹⁸⁴

The Times of Israel identified the boy as Daniel Umansky, a 14-year-old Israeli citizen whose family had returned to Ukraine 20 years after emigrating to Israel. Zelensky condemned the attack as "absolutely savage and sickening."⁶

Ukrainska Pravda reported that Russian forces launched almost 300 attack drones since the evening of 24 September, of which Ukrainian air defence destroyed 267. Among those killed was journalist Mariia Yizhvenko, 29, who had covered defence technology and Ukraine's IT sector before moving to a corporate role. Her husband, combat medic Danylo Yizhvenko, said: "The car burned out, Masha was killed. She was my best friend, my partner, my wife, and the woman who would have been the mother of my children."⁵

International response

According to the BBC and Newsclick Nigeria, EU member states approved a €6.6bn aid package for Ukraine, allocating €900 million to its Military Assistance Mission and €1 billion toward joint procurement efforts.¹⁸

Separately, Newsweek reported that Polish prosecutors suspect a fire at a Starlink ground station in Poland may have been ordered by Russian special services; the station is said to transmit internet traffic to Ukraine. Finnish President Alexander Stubb appealed to Elon Musk to broaden Ukraine's military access to Starlink, while Ukrainian officials have said the strikes on data centres have not damaged military activity.²