22OCT

Russia ruins Datagroup's Kyiv data hall

2 min read

16:40UTC

A Russian ballistic-missile strike on Kyiv left Datagroup's data centre beyond repair, its chief executive said; no staff were hurt.

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Key takeaway

Datagroup's Kyiv data centre is beyond repair after a second Russian strike, its chief executive said.

A Russian ballistic-missile strike on Kyiv on the night of 18 to 19 October left the data centre of Datagroup, one of Ukraine's largest telecoms operators, beyond repair, according to its chief executive, Mykhailo Shelemba⁠¹. No staff were hurt, and Datagroup's services continue⁠².

Kyiv Post reported damage to the same building on 25 September⁠³, so the October strike was the second within a month. Russia had also stepped up strikes on the high-voltage lines that move power between Ukraine's regions, First Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said on 9 October.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Datagroup is one of Ukraine's largest telecoms companies. It runs data centres: secure buildings full of computers that keep websites, phone networks and online services running. On the night of 18 to 19 October a Russian ballistic missile hit its data centre in Kyiv. The company's chief executive says the building is beyond repair. It had already been damaged in a strike in September. No staff were hurt. Customers kept their services because Datagroup had prepared other sites to take over if one was lost.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The same building was hit on 25 September and again on 18 to 19 October. Two strikes on one site in under four weeks suggest it was a chosen target rather than collateral damage, though no official has said so.

Ukraine's telecoms and hosting are concentrated in Kyiv, where media, government services and businesses share a small number of large facilities. Each such building is a high-value point whose loss would cut many services at once, unless operators spread the load.

What could happen next?

Risk
Kyiv data centres remain exposed to repeat strikes, as the second hit on the same building shows.
Meaning
Backup capacity at separate sites, not building protection, decided whether customers lost service.

Source Landscape

This story draws on mixed-leaning sources from Russia and Ukraine

Ukraine×2

Russia

Primary parallel: In early March 2026, drone attacks damaged Amazon Web Services infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain, causing physical damage, power disruption and cloud outages, IntelliNews and others reported. Both cases show commercial data centres struck during a war, outside any military installation.

Counter-parallel: The Gulf strikes caused customer outages. Datagroup's loss of a whole building did not, because its services moved to backup sites, the outcome the Gulf operators did not achieve.

Consensus view: The Financial Times argued on 19 October that data centres need protection from drone warfare. On that view, operators should harden the buildings themselves, because a commercial data centre in a war zone is now a target in its own right.

Counter-view: Datagroup's own result points to a different defence. The building is lost, but service continued from other sites, so geographic redundancy, rather than hardening one facility against ballistic missiles, kept customers online.

Key tension: Whether commercial operators in a war zone should spend on protecting individual buildings or accept their loss and pay instead for duplicate capacity elsewhere.

Sources:Interfax Ukraine·Interfax Ukraine·Ukrainska Pravda

Mentions:Mykhailo Shelemba →Kyiv →Russia →Ukraine →Artem Nekrasov →Bahrain →Amazon Web Services →Amazon →Financial Times →Datagroup →

First Reported In

Update #17 · Stalled power line cuts A$140m from NEXTDC guidance

Interfax Ukraine· 22 Oct 2026

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Different Perspectives

Mohsen Rezaei

The senior Iranian security official and former IRGC commander told Press TV that US-linked technology infrastructure in the region could become a target if war resumes. He named the UAE and valued the assets at more than US$2 trillion, without a breakdown.

Mykhailo Shelemba

Datagroup's chief executive says the Kyiv data centre hit on the night of 18 to 19 October is beyond repair. Services continue from backup sites, and no staff were hurt.

Kristen Umstattd

The Loudoun supervisor voted against fast-tracking Amazon's rezoning of the Ashburn campus. She said there were no figures yet on homes, school or road costs.

Akishima residents' litigation group

The group formed on 18 October and plans to sue Nihon GLP by year-end to stop eight data-centre buildings. Its lawyers will argue rights to life, health, clean water and a natural environment after mediation failed in August.

Óscar López

Spain's Digital Transformation minister said on 22 October he could not confirm when the data-centre decree will be approved. He added that Google has always committed to investing in Spain.

Google

Google said it would comply with LVV's order to stop preparatory works at Muhos and Kajaani until environmental assessments finish. A spokesperson conceded the company had fallen short.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.