{
  "id": 15627628,
  "title": "Why Russia's war on Ukraine's data centers could backfire on Moscow",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/why-russias-war-on-ukraines-data-centers-could-backfire-on-moscow",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T16:59:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Kyiv Independent",
    "slug": "kyiv-independent",
    "url": "https://kyivindependent.com/why-russias-war-on-ukraines-data-centers-could-backfire-on-moscow/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russia's war against Ukraine has extended to targeting the country's digital infrastructure. Kyiv's retaliatory strikes have exposed flaws in Moscow's organization of IT infrastructure. In September, Russia damaged a Kyiv data center belonging to internet provider UTELS, causing service disruptions for around 100,000 households. Since then, Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine's digital infrastructure, expanding its targets as its battlefield offensives have failed to achieve objectives. Russia's centralized data centers concentrated in Moscow and surrounding regions are particularly vulnerable to Ukrainian long-range drone strikes. Experts estimate that about 80% of Russia's data centers are within reach of Ukrainian drones. However, a nationwide shutdown of Ukraine's internet is deemed unlikely given the country's decentralized infrastructure. In October, Ukrainian drones struck Yandex, Sberbank, and VK data centers, disrupting payments, banking, and online services in Russia. While Ukraine can cause temporary outages, a complete shutdown of internet access across the country is considered extremely difficult.",
  "summary": "Russian strikes on Ukrainian data centers could backfire, experts have told the Kyiv Independent, as Kyiv's retaliatory attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in how Moscow has organized IT infrastructure. On Sept. 23, a Russian attack damaged a Kyiv data center housing network equipment for internet provider UTELS, causing service disruptions. The attack also affected cloud service Fex.net and…",
  "key_points": [
    "Russia's war on Ukraine's data centers aims to disrupt digital infrastructure.",
    "Kyiv's retaliatory strikes exposed flaws in Moscow's IT organization.",
    "Ukrainian drones struck Yandex, Sberbank, and VK data centers in October."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "WSJ Markets",
        "title": "Putin’s Bid to End the War in Ukraine on Moscow’s Terms",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/putins-bid-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine-on-moscows-terms",
        "published": "2026-10-19T10:02:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "Russia targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, damaging 10 sites and leaving 500,000 families without power",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/russia-targets-ukraines-energy-infrastructure-overnight-damaging-10",
        "published": "2026-10-19T10:59:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Meduza (English)",
        "title": "Civilians trapped in Russian-occupied Oleshky have no safe way out. Ukraine says it’s negotiating with Moscow to bring them directly to Ukrainian-controlled territory.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/civilians-trapped-in-russian-occupied-oleshky-have-no-safe-way-out",
        "published": "2026-10-19T15:40:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Kyiv Independent",
        "title": "Ukraine to compensate damaged cargo ships, as Russia rejects Black Sea proposal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/ukraine-to-compensate-damaged-cargo-ships-as-russia-rejects-black-sea",
        "published": "2026-10-19T16:05:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Pope Leo XIV urges humanitarian cooperation between Ukraine and Russia during call with Zelenskyy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/pope-leo-xiv-urges-humanitarian-cooperation-between-ukraine-and",
        "published": "2026-10-19T17:12:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}