Ukraine’s leading telecom operator Kyivstar is expanding its backup power systems to keep mobile and internet services online as Russian strikes continue to cripple the country’s energy infrastructure, CEO Oleksandr Komarov said.
“We now have over 3,500 generators linked to the network,” Komarov told Reuters. “Each attack reduces our tolerance gap, so our only solution is to keep expanding backup capacity.”
Following the largest Russian assault on power facilities since 2022 — which struck nuclear substations and killed seven people — Kyivstar has reinforced its systems. Its core network can operate up to three days without external power, while more than 90,000 apartment connection boxes have 10–12 hours of backup to keep customers connected.
Kyivstar, which listed on the U.S. stock exchange in August, is also attracting interest from major investors who view the company as undervalued given the challenges of operating in a war zone.
Parent company Veon is coordinating with Kyiv’s government to open share purchases to Ukrainian investors, CEO Kaan Terzioglu confirmed.
Kyivstar’s third-quarter revenue rose nearly 20% to $297 million, boosted by wider use of its digital services and a relatively stable macroeconomic environment in Ukraine.
