Kyivstar turned off its network in the breakaway republics in the east

Photo: Yevgeniy Musiyenko

Kyivstar disconnected its segment of mobile network in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as a result of abnormal network activity, which occurred for unknown reasons, reported representatives of the company.

«Since certain parts of the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are temporarily uncontrolled by the Ukrainian authorities and there is no possibility to control Kyivstar’s network by physical means, the company temporarily disconnected the segment from the main network and suspended provision of services to its subscribers guided by the requirements of the legislation and interests of safety and preservation of customer data,» reads the statement released by the company.

Kyivstar notified the National Center for Operational and Technical Administration of Telecommunication Networks of Ukraine, the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine, the Security Service and the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization about the circumstances.

«Our experts will analyze the situation. The decision on extension of shutdown mode or recovery of communication will be made based on the results of technical assessment of the situation, principle of ensuring integrity of the network and protection of subscribers’ information. The company would like to offer apologies to its subscribers for any inconveniences caused through no fault of ours,» says the message.

«I cannot speak for other mobile operators, but our company simply had no physical access to its equipment in those territories. We will draw an accurate map of the disconnected areas a bit later,» said Head of the Corporate Communications Department at Kyivstar Petro Ivanov.