Ukraine is preparing for the possible loss of Internet access due to targeted Russian strikes on data centers and telecommunications facilities. This was stated by Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky in an interview with the program “TSN. Week“, quoted by “Ukrainska Pravda“.
“We must proceed from the worst-case scenario, think like this and prepare like this“, said Koretsky. According to him, the danger to critical infrastructure will persist until the end of a full-scale war.
The Prime Minister commented on the discussions at the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters dedicated to Russian attacks on telecommunications facilities. He said that the Cabinet of Ministers uses various solutions to preserve digital data and equipment.
The infrastructure is distributed in different places
Some of the objects are moved underground, others are stored in cloud storages, and certain equipment is physically exported outside Ukraine. According to Koretsky, all three approaches can be used simultaneously depending on the specific need.
„First, we protect. Secondly, there are non-standard solutions. Something should be underground, something - in the cloud, something - abroad, something - in a mixed version, and for something else, all three options should be used simultaneously“, said Serhiy Koretsky.He emphasized that there is no universal rule for protecting such objects. Preparations are geared towards the worst-case scenario, the prime minister said.
Hundreds of thousands of subscribers left without connection
Between September 23 and 25, Russian forces carried out a series of attacks on the Ukrainian data centers UTELS, MiroHost, and DATAGROUP, as well as on communication nodes, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The strikes destroyed or damaged equipment of Internet providers and major telecommunications companies.
As a result of the attacks, hundreds of thousands of subscribers in Kiev, Kiev region, and other parts of Ukraine faced a temporary interruption of internet services.
Following the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff. Officials and heads of special services have been assigned additional measures to protect the country's telecommunications infrastructure.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda