{
  "id": 9946906,
  "title": "Russia intensifies strikes on Ukraine’s digital infrastructure — ISW",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/russia-intensifies-strikes-on-ukraines-digital-infrastructure-isw",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-26T08:25:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/russian-war/russia-intensifies-strikes-on-ukraine-data-centers-and-telecom-infrastructure-isw-50644810.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Since mid-September, Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine's digital infrastructure, including data centers and telecommunications, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). This campaign aims to damage Ukraine's economy and disrupt daily digital services for civilians and businesses. The Russian Defense Ministry openly admits to targeting data centers, claiming it's to disrupt communications for Ukraine's Defense Forces. However, Ukrainian officials have found no evidence that these strikes have harmed military communications or government networks. The strikes have caused temporary internet outages, notably in Kyiv, but Ukrainian internet providers maintain that Russia is unlikely to fully shut down the country's internet. Ukraine's internet infrastructure is highly distributed, with thousands of providers, limiting the impact of attacks on individual facilities. The growing focus on data centers is seen as an attempt by Moscow to undermine Ukraine's economy, following intensified strikes against port, railway, and logistics infrastructure. Russian attacks damaged multiple data centers in Kyiv between September 23 and 25, leading to internet disruptions for around 100,000 households. Other infrastructure, such as internet traffic exchange facilities and hosting providers, also experienced disruptions. President Zelenskyy approved additional measures to protect data centers and critical communications infrastructure, emphasizing that government officials and security chiefs would be accountable for their implementation. Despite these challenges, Ukraine's decentralized internet infrastructure makes a nationwide shutdown extremely difficult.",
  "summary": "Russian forces have intensified strikes on Ukrainian data centers and telecommunications infrastructure since mid-September as the Kremlin searches for “alternative defeat mechanisms” amid battlefield setbacks, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Sept. 25 assessment.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "How Russia recruits Belarusians for war in Ukraine: Methods and consequences",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/how-russia-recruits-belarusians-for-war-in-ukraine-methods-and",
        "published": "2026-09-26T05:30:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Kyiv Independent",
        "title": "General Staff: Russia has lost 1,527,280 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/general-staff-russia-has-lost-1-527-280-troops-in-ukraine-since-feb",
        "published": "2026-09-26T06:14:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Russia targets Ukraine's digital nerve centres as war reaches data infrastructure",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/russia-targets-ukraines-digital-nerve-centres-as-war-reaches-data",
        "published": "2026-09-26T06:36:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Why is it so difficult for Ukraine to take down Russia's jet-powered drones?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/why-is-it-so-difficult-for-ukraine-to-take-down-russias-jet-powered",
        "published": "2026-09-26T08:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "Putin says Russia not preparing for ‘any kind’ of conflict with Europe, weighs Ukraine talks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/putin-says-russia-not-preparing-for-any-kind-of-conflict-with-europe",
        "published": "2026-09-26T09:16:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}