Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia has expanded the scope of its attacks to target data centers and Internet service providers in Ukraine, in an attempt to cause as much disruption as possible to the lives of ordinary people.
"All of this affects people's ability to stay in touch, study, and work," he added.
On Friday, a Russian drone hit a business center in the capital, Kiev, killing four people and damaging a data center. A separate attack also killed a 14-year-old boy. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said he was Israeli.
Russia confirmed that it had targeted a data center site, saying it was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence.
About 100,000 homes in Kiev and the surrounding area were exposed to internet service outages on Wednesday due to the strikes.
Some companies have already begun transferring data from affected servers to facilities abroad.
In the city of Lutsk, northwest of the country, electronic information panels at public transport stations were not working on Friday, according to officials. The city council said this was “due to the damage caused by a Russian attack on data centers in Kiev.”
“The Russians are constantly expanding the scope of escalation operations: American and other companies, data centers, Internet service providers; for Russia, all aspects of normal life are simply a target,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post on Friday.
He added, "It is important for the world to respond to all of this, and for Russia to feel the response to its terrorism."
Late on Friday, Zelensky said that "additional decisions" had been made during his meeting with senior Ukrainian defense and security officials, with the aim of protecting data centers and other vital communications facilities in the country and ensuring their continued operation without interruption.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Ssibha said Russia was seeking to disrupt the flow of "life-saving information" by targeting data centres.
"Rapid alerts on missile and drone threats are essential. They save lives. This is vital civilian infrastructure... not a military target. They are essential to the continuation of daily life," Ssibha added.
Zelensky's chief advisor on defense technologies acknowledged on Thursday that "local unrest may occur" in the wake of the Russian attacks, and the cost of Internet services may rise to cover repair expenses.
But Serhiy Beskrestnov stressed that the Internet in Ukraine has a high degree of decentralization, and therefore the country "will not be left without an Internet connection."
It is noteworthy that the data center targeted by Russia on Friday is run by Datagroup. The company said that its specialists were working to assess the damage after the attack, which occurred during the day, but that all services “continue to operate from backup sites.”
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday evening that 7 people were killed and 59 others were injured following the Russian attacks that occurred overnight.
The Russian Defense Ministry later confirmed that it had targeted the Datagroup website, which it said was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence.
The BBC verified the authenticity of footage showing damage to the Incom Business Centre, which housed Datagroup.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also said that over the past few days, its forces targeted a number of data processing and communications centers in Ukraine, including “New-Telco,” “United DC,” “Kiev Star,” and “Parkovi.”
In recent weeks, Moscow has also intensified its strikes on Ukraine's energy and railway infrastructure, seeking to cause as much damage as possible as winter approaches.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian army targeted Russian oil refineries and logistics centers, saying that they contributed to financing the ongoing Russian war effort.
Russian President Vladimir Putin began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Speaking to reporters late Friday, Putin said that Moscow would “carefully study” the idea of resuming direct peace negotiations with Kiev, pointing to the “huge” Ukrainian attack on the capital, Moscow, last week and other recent strikes.
He said that "anything is possible," but stressed that Ukraine "should feel our retaliatory strikes" and that all decisions will be made "based on the interests of the Russian Federation."
Zelensky stated earlier that he was ready to hold tripartite talks in which the United States would also participate.
Kiev and its European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of rejecting any peace negotiations, saying that he seeks to seize more Ukrainian lands.
Speaking to the media, Putin also reiterated his position that Moscow "does not plan" to attack Europe and "has no reason" to do so. He made similar statements about Ukraine before launching his large-scale invasion about five years ago.
In a separate development on Friday, the European Union agreed to release 6.6 billion euros to Ukraine, according to EU foreign policy official Kaya Kallas, who described this as “good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia.”
European NATO members have warned in recent weeks that Russia may be preparing to carry out hybrid attacks to test the extent of these countries' commitment to supporting Ukraine, something Moscow denies.
