Kyiv's Omega Telecom data center knocked out by Russian drone strike
The Kyiv data center Omega Telecom shut down after a Russian drone strike burned out its equipment, the company announced around midnight on October 6. The incident is the latest in a series of Russian attacks on data centers in the capital in late September and early October.
Key points
- Omega Telecom's Kyiv data center stopped operating after a Russian drone strike burned out its equipment.
- The company announced the shutdown in a Facebook post around midnight on October 6.
- Omega Telecom specialists are working to restore communication channels and internet access at backup sites.
- The company said only its Kyiv branch is shutting down; the company as a whole is not ceasing operations.
- Coverage reports the strike date as September 27; Omega Telecom did not specify an exact date in its post.
- Earlier Russian strikes hit dline.ua on Predslavynska Street, the KVC Parkovyi data center, Cosmonova.net, the Pavutyna network, and UTELS node equipment.
- Crazy Network reported a missile hit on a central traffic exchange data center in Kyiv, causing outages in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Why it matters
The loss of a major Kyiv data center affects internet access and communications for customers in the capital and beyond, and is part of a broader Russian campaign against Ukrainian civilian communications infrastructure. Ukrainian officials frame the strikes as deliberate attempts to cut Ukrainians off from the internet and disrupt air-raid alert systems.
What happened
Omega Telecom, a Kyiv-based data center, stopped operating after a Russian drone strike burned out its equipment, the company said in a Facebook post published around midnight on October 6. Photos published by the company showed the equipment destroyed. Specialists are working to restore communication channels and internet access at backup sites, but the company gave no timeline for completing the work. Omega Telecom said only its Kyiv branch is shutting down, and that the company as a whole is not ceasing operations. Coverage reports the strike occurred on September 27, though Omega Telecom's own post did not specify an exact date. The shutdown follows earlier Russian strikes on other Kyiv data centers, including dline.ua on Predslavynska Street, the KVC Parkovyi data center, Cosmonova.net, the Pavutyna network, and UTELS node equipment. Provider Crazy Network also reported a missile hit on a central traffic exchange data center in Kyiv, causing outages for its subscribers in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All five Ukrainian sources frame the Omega Telecom shutdown as a direct consequence of Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian communications infrastructure. Coverage centers the company's statement and embeds the incident within a series of attacks on Kyiv data centers, quoting President Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Sybiha to emphasize what they describe as the strategic intent of cutting Ukrainians off from the internet and disrupting air-raid alerts.
Where reporting differs
Sources report the Russian strike that hit Omega Telecom as occurring on September 27, while the company's own public post did not specify an exact date, and some early coverage framed the shutdown as following a general "massive attack" without naming the strike date.
Background
Other Kyiv data centers affected by recent Russian strikes include dline.ua on Predslavynska Street, the KVC Parkovyi data center, Cosmonova.net, the Pavutyna network, and UTELS node equipment. Provider Crazy Network reported a missile hit on a central traffic exchange data center in Kyiv, causing outages for subscribers in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Omega Telecom stated that only its Kyiv branch is shutting down and that the company as a whole is not ceasing operations. The date of September 27 is reported in coverage; the company's public announcement did not include an exact date for the strike.