Russia continues striking Ukrainian data centers, calling it a mandatory 'digital detox'

Russian forces continue to strike Ukrainian data centers in a series of attacks over the past week. On September 25, an office building in Kyiv housing a Datagroup data center was struck. The center suffered damage, but the company said all its services kept running thanks to backup sites.

The following day, September 26, a Cosmonova data center in a different Kyiv office building was hit and forced to shut down entirely, interrupting broadcasts from several television channels. The strikes also cut off internet access for some Kyiv residents.

On September 28, a Russian drone struck an office building in Dnipro. Regional authorities reported damage and casualties but did not specify which companies occupied the building. That same day, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an overnight strike on an office building in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district. Later, another strike on Kyiv set fire to a building belonging to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, located near a Ukrtelecom office and the German Embassy.

Russia's justification and Ukraine's response

On September 26, Russia's Defense Ministry stated the strikes targeted data centers because they process and transmit intelligence data for the Ukrainian military. The next day, the ministry posted an image of a drone on social media captioned "Digital detox," adding the comment "Mandatory!"

Responding to the strikes, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said all infrastructure remains at risk, as it has been throughout the war, and will continue to be until the fighting ends. He noted that the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief had already discussed measures to protect data centers and maintain mobile communications. Koretskyi said authorities were pursuing every option to keep people connected, including direct protection of facilities and unconventional solutions, but stressed that any system built to safeguard communications infrastructure must plan for the worst-case scenario.