Ukraine Targets Russian-Backed Telecoms in Luhansk, Turning Networks Into War Targets
Ukrainian drones have struck two telecom operators in Russian-occupied Luhansk for the second time in a week, hitting Lugacom and the Luhansk Telephone Company. The attacks disrupt communications used by occupying forces and civilians alike, turning basic connectivity into a contested asset in the broader information war.
Phone lines and mobile towers in Russian-occupied Luhansk are now part of the battlefield. Ukrainian drones struck the city again overnight, with numerous explosions reported and preliminary assessments pointing to hits on two telecommunications facilities: Lugacom, a backbone operator, and the Luhansk Telephone Company.
Local accounts cited in Ukrainian reporting describe multiple blasts across the city. Russian-backed authorities themselves have acknowledged damage to Lugacom’s infrastructure and to the building of the Luhansk Telephone Company. These same facilities were reportedly attacked last week, suggesting a deliberate campaign rather than an isolated strike.
Lugacom has served as a key provider of mobile voice and data services in the occupied region and, according to Ukrainian sources, helped connect Russian military and administrative structures to local networks. By targeting the backbone and switching infrastructure, Ukrainian forces are likely seeking to cut or degrade communications channels that support Russian logistics, command and control.
For civilians living in Luhansk, that means patchier signals, dropped calls and slower internet access at best — and complete outages at worst — on top of an already fragile wartime existence. Internet and phone service are lifelines for arranging food and medicine, checking on relatives, and receiving air raid or emergency notices. Every outage forces people back to physical travel and word of mouth, which are slower and often riskier in a heavily militarized zone.
On the Russian military side, damaged telecom hubs complicate everything from coordinating units to moving data between occupied towns. Units may be pushed to rely more on military radios or satellite links, which are easier for Ukrainian signals intelligence to monitor or jam. The strikes also consume manpower and resources on repairs and force occupation authorities to re-route networks or bring in additional equipment from Russia itself.
The Luhansk attacks fit a wider pattern of Ukraine using drones and long-range systems to go after what might once have been considered rear-area or civilian infrastructure but now provides tangible support to Russia’s war effort. Similar strikes have hit fuel depots, rail nodes and industrial plants that service the military. Turning telecom operators into targets reflects how deeply modern warfare has embedded itself in everyday infrastructure.
Telecom networks in contested territories are no longer just pipes for civilian traffic; they carry orders, reconnaissance and data that can shape battles hundreds of kilometers away.
Key signs to track next include how long services in Luhansk remain disrupted, whether Russian forces deploy mobile base stations or military communication trucks as stopgaps, and if Ukraine expands this kind of targeting to other occupied cities with critical network infrastructure. Any move by Russia to harden such sites with air defenses or relocate key nodes further from the front would confirm that Kyiv’s campaign is biting into the occupiers’ connectivity.
Sources
- OSINT