Russia Knocks Ukrainian News Channels Offline as Moscow Steps Up Attacks on Kyiv’s Data Centers

Multiple news agencies have reported service and broadcast disruptions on Saturday after Russia’s latest attacks on data centers. Cosmonova, a Ukrainian data center, confirmed its main facilities were damaged on Saturday in its Facebook updates, before adding that it’s working to redirect internet traffic and restore the data in backup locations.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Ukrainian outlet Channel 24 reported that the disruption at Cosmonova has affected broadcasts from multiple television and news channels. According to Channel 24, local television channel “We - Ukraine+” – whose affiliated channel was struck by a Russian attack during a live broadcast on Sept. 8 – is currently available, while Army TV is also suffering from the same issue. Suspilne, a major Ukrainian news outlet, also faced video playback issues on its site due to the data center attack, according to Channel 24. The outlet added that television broadcast for Novyny.LIVE was also unavailable, though the outlet’s other channels, such as its website and social media platforms, remain operational. Russia’s defense ministry confirmed in its morning briefing that it targeted Cosmonova’s data centers, claiming the facilities “provided mobile internet service and support for the Starlink satellite communications system for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” The latest attacks also coincided with intensified Russian attacks on trains and border checkpoints, as well as gas stations. Other Topics of Interest Zelensky Asks Trump to Act on Lindsey Graham's Sanctions After Another Deadly Russian Attack The US leader said he would discuss the issue with China’s Xi, whose country buys the most Russian oil, though the outcome remains unclear. While those attacks affect Ukrainians’ ability to travel and leave the country, strikes on data centers can also potentially affect their ability to receive critical information, as seen during the 2023 cyberattack against major telecom operator Kyivstar, when sirens were not active in certain areas after parts of the company’s IT infrastructure were wiped clean. A Ukrainian tech consultant told tech outlet dev.ua on Thursday that Russia has been hitting Ukrainian data centers for around three weeks. Four data centers were hit on the same day during an attack on Wednesday, with train service also affected. Anatoly Frolenkov, the consultant, explained that while certain redundancy features were in place, service disruptions were almost unavoidable as traffic could spike for certain nodes when some facilities were knocked offline, overwhelming the remaining nodes before service was restored and redistributed accordingly. Leo Chiu is a journalist and editor based in Eastern Europe since 2015. He has witnessed two presidential elections in Belarus and traveled widely to conflict zones and contested regions, producing reporting that bridges the gap between major developments and local realities.