Why Russia Strikes Ukraine’s Data Centers: Business Damage and Panic

Russian strikes on data centers are aimed primarily at harming businesses and creating panic among the population, according to MiroHost founder and Internet Invest Group head Oleksandr Olshansky. In an interview with NV Business, Olshansky said the attacks are "completely senseless" from a defense or state perspective, noting that destroying commercial data centers has no direct impact on the front-line situation. He confirmed his own data center was destroyed but stressed this does not affect military operations. He also described a wave of rumors following the attack, with ten journalists calling him in one day compared to one in the past year, spreading claims that "there will be no internet tomorrow" or "it will become five times more expensive." The strikes damaged multiple Kyiv data centers, including facilities hosting UTELS equipment, the "Pavutyna" network, and Crazy Network's central traffic exchange hub, causing outages in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions. Hosting providers CityHost.UA and MiroHost were destroyed, while providers Etherlink, KIEVNET, "Domonet," and FAUST also experienced issues.