Zelensky: Ukraine’s Data Center Strikes ‘Hurt Russia More’

Ukraine has found ways to counter Russia’s attacks on its digital infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview reported on Wednesday, Oct. 28, arguing that Ukrainian retaliatory strikes hurt Russia more because its systems are more centralized.Speaking to The Sun, Zelensky contrasted the countries’ approaches to protecting communications networks and data centers, UATV reported.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Our retaliatory strikes are more painful for Russia, because everything there is more centralized,” he said.Zelensky said Russia had repeatedly attacked Ukrainian data infrastructure and cyberspace, but Ukraine’s developed, decentralized networks had helped keep mobile communications and internet services functioning.He also linked decentralization to Ukraine’s shortage of air defenses. Russia, he said, has substantial air defense resources and concentrates on protecting existing infrastructure, while Ukraine has dispersed systems to reduce their vulnerability.That approach extends beyond data infrastructure, the president added.Zelensky described Ukrainian strikes as a response to Russia’s campaign, saying Kyiv acted after Russian attacks against Ukraine.Russian strikes destroy Ukrainian facilitiesThe president’s comments follow weeks of Russian attacks on telecommunications infrastructure, including facilities whose operators have relied on backup sites to maintain services.On Oct. 19, Datagroup said a Russian ballistic missile attack had destroyed its data center in Kyiv, leaving the equipment and infrastructure beyond repair. Other Topics of Interest Russian Commander Organized Widescale Fraud Based on Fake ‘Action’ Videos A Russian commander was found guilty of making videos of fake battlefield fighting aimed at receiving medals and financial compensation. The company reported no injuries among its employees and said it continued serving customers through backup facilities.Datagroup had already reported damage to a data center on Sept. 25, when it said customer data had been preserved and services were continuing from reserve sites.Other providers, including MiroHost and UTELS, also reported damage during Russian attacks in late September. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said earlier strikes had temporarily disrupted internet access for approximately 100,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region.The disruptions show that continued nationwide connectivity has coexisted with serious damage and localized outages.Russia has openly acknowledged targeting the facilities. On Oct. 16, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces were striking data centers alongside strategic bridges and railway infrastructure.Ukraine targets Yandex infrastructureUkraine’s response has included a series of drone attacks against data centers operated by Russian technology company Yandex.On Oct. 8, drones struck the Sasovo facility, in Russia’s Ryazan region, triggering a fire. Yandex acknowledged an incident and said some services were temporarily unavailable, while users reported problems accessing its online storage and document platforms.A day later, Yandex confirmed that another Ukrainian strike had disabled several modules at its data center in Kaluga. The company said it was assessing the damage and could not immediately say when the equipment would return to service.Yandex’s infrastructure supports services used by both the company and outside clients, meaning disruptions can spread beyond its own consumer applications.Disruptions spread across digital servicesA third strike, on Oct. 11, hit a Yandex data center in Vladimir, bringing the number of targeted facilities to three in four days.The attack disrupted more than 80 services and cloud infrastructure components. Yandex confirmed that operations at the Vladimir facility had been halted.Affected systems included cloud computing, storage, databases, and artificial intelligence tools, alongside consumer products such as the Alice voice assistant, Yandex Music, and videoconferencing services.Businesses using Yandex’s cloud infrastructure also experienced outages, illustrating how damage to a major processing hub can affect multiple platforms simultaneously. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.