Ukraine is preparing for a possible worst-case scenario in which Russian strikes disrupt internet and mobile communications, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said on Monday.
Speaking during an interview with TSN aired Sunday, Koretskyi said Ukraine is using a range of measures to protect its communications infrastructure as Russia continues to target data centers and other critical infrastructure.
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“The threat exists to all infrastructure. It existed, exists, and will continue to exist until the end of the war,” Koretskyi said.
The protection of data centers and mobile networks was discussed at a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he said.
Koretskyi said Ukraine’s internet infrastructure must be designed with the assumption that Russia could inflict severe damage.
“We need to plan for the worst possible scenario,” he said.
The government is using a combination of measures to keep networks operating, including distributing critical infrastructure across different locations and using both domestic and foreign facilities, Koretskyi said.
“Some things should be underground, some in the cloud, some abroad, some should be a mix, and some all three at once,” he said. “There is no single rule.”
Between Sept. 23-25, Russian forces carried out a series of attacks on Ukrainian data centers, including those operated by UTELS, MiroHost, and DATAGROUP, as well as other communications infrastructure.
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The strikes destroyed or damaged equipment belonging to several Kyiv internet providers and major telecommunications companies, temporarily leaving hundreds of thousands of subscribers in Kyiv, the Kyiv region, and other parts of Ukraine without internet access.
Following the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on Sept. 26. Officials and security service chiefs were ordered to take additional measures to protect the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.
The attacks came as Russia increasingly targets Ukraine’s digital and communications infrastructure, raising concerns about the potential for wider disruptions to internet and mobile services.