President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has widened its attacks to target Ukraine’s data centres and internet providers, seeking to cause maximum disruption for ordinary people.
“All this affects people’s ability to stay connected, study, work,” he said.
On Friday a Russian drone hit a business centre in the capital Kyiv, killing four people and damaging a data centre. A separate attack killed a 14-year-old boy. Israel’s foreign ministry said he was an Israeli citizen.
Russia confirmed it had targeted a data centre site, saying it was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence.
About 100,000 households in Kyiv and the region suffered internet outages on Wednesday due to strikes.
Some firms have already begun moving data from damaged servers to facilities abroad.
In the north-western city of Lutsk, electronic information boards at public transport stops were not working on Friday, officials said. The city council said this was “due to damage caused by a Russian attack on data centres in Kyiv”.
In Friday’s social media post, Zelensky wrote: “The Russians are constantly expanding their escalation operation: American and other businesses, data centres, 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.”
Late on Friday, Zelensky said “additional decisions” had been made at his meeting with Ukraine’s top defence and security officials to protect the country’s data centres and other critical communications facilities to ensure their continuous operation.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Russia was seeking to disrupt the flow of “life-saving information” by targeting data centres.
“Rapid alerts about missile and drone threats are essential – they save lives. This is critical civilian infrastructure… It is not a military target. It is essential to keeping everyday life functioning,” Sybiha said.
Zelensky’s top adviser on defence technologies on Thursday admitted that “there may be local disruptions” following Russian attacks an the cost of internet services could increase to cover the costs of repairs.
But Serhii Beskrestnov stressed that Ukraine’s internet network was highly decentralised, so the country “will not be left without internet access”.
The latest data centre hit by Russia is run by Datagroup. The company said its specialists were assessing the damage after Friday’s daytime attack but all services “continue to operate from backup sites”.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Friday evening that seven people had been killed and 59 injured after Russian overnight attacks.
Russia’s defence ministry later confirmed it had hit the Datagroup site, which it said was being used by the Ukrainian military’s intelligence.
Footage showing the damaged Inkom business centre that housed Datagroup has since been verified by the BBC.
The Russian defence ministry also said that over the past few days its forces have targeted a number of data processing and telecommunications centres in Ukraine, including New-Telco, United DC, Kyivstar and Parkovyi.
In recent weeks, Moscow has also intensified its strikes on Ukraine’s energy and railway infrastructure – seeking to cause maximum damage as winter approaches.
Ukraine’s military has been hitting Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs, saying they help finance Russia’s ongoing war effort.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
