Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said Wednesday they were working to repair the network of Kyivstar, Ukraine’s main mobile operator, hit by an unprecedented cyberattack the day before.
On Tuesday an attack that Kyiv blamed on Russian hackers paralysed the networks of Kyivstar and its 24 million subscribers.
“SBU cyber experts and specialists from Kyiv star are repairing the network in cooperation with other governmental agencies,” the SBU said on Telegram.
The agency said it hoped at least some of the services would be available on Wednesday.
Kyivstar users in the capital Kyiv were still unable to speak on phones or to receive air raid alert texts Wednesday, after a ballistic missile attack wounded over 50 people and caused widespread damage.
Users rushed to shops to buy SIM cards from Ukraine’s other two operators, but they were hard to find.
Around 40 people, wrapped up in heavy winter coats, were queueing up in the hopes of buying one from a downtown store belonging to Vodafone, the country’s second largest operator.
The last cards were sold out by midday in an outlet in the city centre, and none were available at a small Lifecell shop nearby.
The cyberattack took place Tuesday, paralysing many services in the country.
Residents of several regions also said they were struggling to take cash out.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, some terminals in pharmacies and supermarkets were not working, while street lighting was out in some places in the northern Chernigiv region.
In its statement Wednesday, the SBU accused hackers belonging to a Russian military intelligence unit, the GRU, of being behind the hacking.
“A group of Russian pseudo-hackers has already claimed responsibility for the attack,” it said.
