# Russia targets Ukraine's data centers through air defense gaps

> Russian jet-powered drones are striking Ukrainian data centers and telecom networks, disrupting internet and mobile services for thousands as air defenses struggle to keep pace.
- Title: Russia targets Ukraine's data centers through air defense gaps
- Summary: Russian jet-powered drones are striking Ukrainian data centers and telecom networks, disrupting internet and mobile services for thousands as air defenses…
- Keywords: russia, ukraine, drone strikes, data centers, telecommunications, air defense, volodymyr zelenskyy, kyiv, technology, science, targets, Ukraine's
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/russian-drones-strike-ukraines-data-centers-by-exploiting-air-defense-gaps
- Published: 2026-10-05T17:21:11+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: russia, ukraine, drone strikes, data centers, telecommunications, air defense, volodymyr zelenskyy, kyiv, technology, science
## Russian drones hit Ukrainian data centers
Russian jet-powered drone strikes on Ukrainian data centers have surged, disrupting mobile phone and internet services for thousands of people across the country.
## Strikes focused on Kyiv since September
According to the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders, Russian attacks on Ukrainian telecommunication infrastructure have focused on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv since September twenty-third.
## One hundred thousand households lost internet
Ukraine's digital transformation ministry reported that one hundred thousand households in the Kyiv region were temporarily experiencing internet outages from the initial strikes.
## Faster jet-powered drones harder to stop
Ukrainian air defenses intercept more than eighty-five percent of conventional Shahed-type drones, but interception rates fall to just fifty or sixty percent against newer jet-powered Shahed drones.
## Russia aims to make life unbearable
Russia's targeting of data centers is part of a broader strike campaign that aims to make civilian life in Ukraine unbearable such that Ukraine will capitulate to Russia's demands.
## Ukraine moving data centers and building underground networks
Ukraine has already moved some data centers outside the country and invested in building more underground telecommunication networks to boost resiliency against Russian strikes.

> you cannot move everything underground
## Civilians turning to satellite internet
Telecommunication outages could force more local media outlets and ordinary civilians to turn to satellite-based solutions like Starlink, according to former Ukrainian government advisor Serhii Sternenko.
## Strikes called war crimes by press freedom group
Reporters Without Borders called the repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine's telecommunications infrastructure war crimes, saying they violate the Ukrainian population's right to information.

> These are war crimes and their gravity is undeniable.
## Key takeaway

Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian data centers have intensified since September twenty-third, disrupting telecom services and prompting warnings that Ukraine needs stronger air defenses to protect its digital economy.