Russia seeks alternative defeat mechanisms: ISW explains attacks on Ukrainian data centers
Illustrative photo: The ISW explains why Russia is attacking Ukrainian data centers (collage by RBC-Ukraine)
Russian forces began striking Ukrainian data centers and telecommunications infrastructure facilities in mid-September, seeking “alternative defeat mechanisms” amid the successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts note that this diversification of Russia’s strike campaign is aimed at undermining Ukraine’s economy and digital infrastructure, which civilians and businesses rely on every day.
Russian strikes have already caused widespread internet outages in Kyiv.
Russia’s defense ministry confirms the attacks on data centers, claiming that the goal is to disrupt the transmission of information within the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
However, Ukrainian government agencies have found no signs that Russian strikes damaged the communications systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or any government institutions.
Although Russian strikes have caused temporary disruptions to internet services, they are unlikely to lead to a complete network shutdown, representatives of Ukrainian internet providers say.
ISW suggests that such targeting of the telecommunications network could lead to an increase in internet costs for local users, as providers will have to finance repairs to damaged infrastructure.
Analysts note that Russian strikes on data centers are one of Russia’s latest attempts to undermine the Ukrainian economy, following strikes on port, railway and logistics infrastructure facilities.
According to ISW, the Kremlin is intensifying its strike campaign and diversifying its list of targets, seeking alternative defeat mechanisms, given that Russian offensive operations in 2026 have failed to achieve their objectives, while Ukrainian forces in 2026 are achieving operationally and even strategically significant successes.
Strikes on data centers
Russia has begun striking Ukrainian data centers. The aggressor country started with Kyiv.
Yesterday, September 25, Cosmonova’s data center was damaged as a result of an enemy attack. Despite the damage to the premises, none of the employees were injured, and all client data was preserved thanks to geographic redundancy.
Earlier, an enemy strike damaged the data center of Datagroup.
The infrastructure was protected from data loss thanks to advanced backups, and all services continued to operate from backup sites.
Following a series of attacks on critical facilities, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would strengthen the protection of data centers and communications infrastructure.
The decisions made are intended to guarantee the uninterrupted operation of critical digital infrastructure amid ongoing attacks.
