Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Fediienko says the country’s communications sector is facing serious problems due to the aftermath of Russian strikes, with mobile operators feeling the impact first.
In a Facebook post, the member of parliament’s committee on cybersecurity and government communications says not everyone in the industry “prepared for the apocalypse.”
According to Fediienko, mobile operators were the first to “crumble”: in villages and small towns, service is disappearing entirely. Prolonged power outages are also taking down legacy fixed networks as batteries simply can’t hold up.
“This is exactly where the system wasn’t ready. I’d even say it didn’t prepare at all. Money was poured anywhere else (schemes were found to siphon cash), but not into network resilience,” the lawmaker says.
Fediienko says subscribers are flocking to small and mid-sized providers that the state had previously tried to “squeeze” with taxes—moves he effectively calls “sabotage against society.”
“But the most interesting part comes next. Let’s analyze where the monopolization of heating and energy leads. In fact, we’re seeing a collapse. And we’re already seeing the consequences,” he adds.
He says operators should prepare for a scenario of total power loss. In such conditions, PON networks are the most viable, being less dependent on electricity and large staffing.
He concludes that investments should go not into flashy foreign brands but into small and medium-sized businesses—the backbone of stability during war and systemic crises.
