Kyivstar reports outages in parts of Ukraine

Nate Ostiller -

Kyivstar, Ukraine's leading phone operator, reported outages in cities in the west and south of the country, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Dec. 20, citing Kyivstar spokesperson Iryna Lelichenko.

Ukraine came under a massive cyberattack on Dec. 12, which targeted Kyivstar and one of the country's largest banks, Monobank. People across the country reported internet and network outages, as well as issues with air raid alerts.

Kyivstar has over 24 million mobile customers and more than 1 million home internet customers as of September this year.

A Russian hacker group allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lelichenko did not comment on the cause of these outages and said the company was working to restore service as soon as possible.

Russia has been repeatedly accused of backing cyber-crime groups in attacks against its rivals. Moscow has also deployed its cyber capabilities against Ukraine, including attacks on government institutions, the defense sector, and energy infrastructure.

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