Data Center Strikes in Ukraine Raise Legal Questions
Censorship blocking · 26.09.2026

23 September Russian drones hit data centers in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Result: around 100,000 households left without internet, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation. Provider UTELS reported that the strike hit a data center housing its key equipment, while Pavutyna had one of its facilities damaged. Trading on the PFTS stock exchange also ground to a halt — again due to internet disruptions. The next day, 24 September, another data center was added to the list — this time belonging to hosting provider MiroHost, though it assured that clients outside Ukraine noticed nothing.

Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed the strikes targeted facilities used in the interests of the Ukrainian military. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called those same facilities civilian infrastructure, noting that among other things they support alerts for missile and drone attacks. Rada MP Oleksandr Fedienko, who chairs the relevant cybersecurity subcommittee, stated that Ukrainian authorities recorded no damage to military or state communication channels from these strikes.

This is exactly where the legal crux lies. Under Additional Protocol I, a civilian object becomes a lawful military target only if its use genuinely provides a military advantage — not simply because someone wrote the word "military" in a press release. The ICRC explicitly notes that a data center can simultaneously store military data and serve civilian users, and this does not automatically grant the right to destroy it — a case-by-case analysis is required.

It's convenient when you can bomb an exchange and a provider, then wave at "military use" without a shred of evidence. Formally, this is no longer a matter of propaganda but of the Rome Statute: ICC Articles 8(2)(b)(ii) and (b)(iv), covering attacks on civilian objects and disproportionate harm. But as rightly noted, an internet outage alone proves neither intent nor military status of the target. Real evidence is needed, not sides simply accusing one another.

Source: https://www.diplomacyandlaw.com/post/russia-targets-ukrainian-data-centres-when-can-the-strikes-be-war-crimes