Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar said that a Russian drone attack on September 27 damaged its headquarters building in Kyiv, with no employees injured. Russia's Ministry of Defense stated on the same day that its forces also struck a data center belonging to Vodafone Ukraine in Kyiv.

Kyivstar Headquarters Building Damaged

Kyivstar said it is assessing the damage to its headquarters building and arranging follow-up measures. As of its announcement, the company had not reported any widespread communication service disruptions caused by the attack. Kyivstar had approximately 21.8 million mobile subscribers as of the end of June this year. This marks the third time this month that the operator has confirmed its facilities were hit. On September 11, its engineering team office in Kyiv was damaged; on September 17, a building housing Kyivstar equipment in Kyiv Oblast was damaged.

Data Centers Hit in Successive Attacks

Russia's Ministry of Defense said the September 27 attack also struck a data center belonging to Vodafone Ukraine. Vodafone Ukraine has not yet disclosed the damage to the facility or its service operation status. Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the same day that another data center in Kyiv was hit twice that morning, with the first attack injuring three people including two children; he did not specify which operator owned the facility. Previously, data center attacks in Kyiv had already caused actual service disruptions. Local operator Cosmonova said that after its data center was hit again on September 26, its backbone network was damaged, affecting internet services for some customers. Ukraine's communications regulator also previously stated that an attack on September 23 affected internet connections for approximately 100,000 households in and around Kyiv.