One of the priority areas for investment by Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, is currently renewable energy sources (RES), in particular solar and wind energy, as well as energy storage systems, according to the company’s CEO, Alexander Komarov.
“We want to somehow reduce the risk of electricity supply and the risk of price increases, which is the fastest growing element of our operating costs,” Komarov said during a discussion at the Ukrainian House in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, according to a correspondent from Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the CEO, the company is also interested in the e-commerce category and is currently looking for suitable offers.
At the same time, Komarov stressed that Kyivstar plans to strengthen its presence in every area in which the company operates.
In the third quarter of 2025, Kyivstar served 22.5 million mobile subscribers, which is 3.6% less than in the previous year, while the number of 4G customers increased by 2.4% to 15 million.
In the third quarter of 2025, the company’s EBITDA was UAH 7.1 billion, which is 21.5% more than in the third quarter of 2024, and in dollars, the growth was 20.4% to $171 million.
The main shareholder of Kyivstar Group, with an 89.6% stake, is the telecommunications holding company VEON, which was its 100% owner before Kyivstar was listed on the stock exchange.
From January 19-22, Ukraine House Davos 2026 is operating in Davos, co-organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, and Horizon Capital.
The National Commission for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services (NCCEC) has extended the permit for Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar to test Starlink Direct to Cell (D2C, direct satellite communication with a smartphone) technology until 20 April 2026, according to the approved decision.
The document states that testing may continue throughout Ukraine, with the exception of border areas, areas of military operations, and temporarily occupied territories.
The conditions stipulate that the operator must use the 1725-1730 MHz/1820-1825 MHz (2×5 MHz) bands, ensure territorial retreat from the borders with other states in the west of the country, and comply with measures to avoid radio interference with existing users of the radio frequency spectrum, according to the decision.
As reported, testing of Starlink Direct to Cell satellite communication technology, which allows users to exchange SMS messages in the absence of mobile communication but with direct visibility of the sky, became available in November to all Kyivstar subscribers in Ukraine who had compatible smartphones with 4G (LTE) support. The system operates via a network of more than 650 Starlink Direct to Cell satellites.
It was noted that voice calls and mobile internet are planned to be introduced in Starlink Direct to Cell in 2026.
In the third quarter of 2025, Kyivstar served 22.5 million mobile subscribers, which is 3.6% less than a year ago, while the number of 4G customers grew by 2.4% to 15 million.
In the third quarter, the company’s EBITDA profit amounted to UAH 7.1 billion, which is 21.5% more than in the third quarter of 2024, and in dollars, the growth was 20.4% to $171 million.
The main shareholder of Kyivstar Group, with an 89.6% stake, is the telecommunications holding company VEON, which owned 100% of Kyivstar before it was listed on the stock exchange.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, will gradually update certain tariffs from December 18 this year and throughout early 2026 to compensate for the rising cost of key resources.
“Starting December 18, 2025, and throughout early 2026, the terms of some subscription rates will be gradually updated, and starting January 1, 2026, and over the course of several months, some contract and business rates will also be updated,” the company said.
It is noted that these conditions are being introduced due to the rise in the cost of key resources, in particular, electricity for businesses, which has risen by 60% during evening peak hours.
The technical community of the telecommunications market “Mobile Communications of Ukraine” reported on Telegram that the new tariffs will affect, among other things, the LOVE UA line. Specifically, LOVE UA Base will increase from 150 UAH to 200 UAH/4 weeks, LOVE UA Bezlim 2024 from 225 UAH to 300 UAH, LOVE UA Pesnya 2024 from 250 UAH to 300 UAH, LOVE UA Svet 2024 from 200 UAH to 260 UAH, LOVE UA Light 2024 (with the superpower Economy) will increase from 150 UAH to 200 UAH, and the LOVE UA Freedom 2024 tariff will increase from 125 UAH to 190 UAH.
Among other changes, the operator announced the expansion of the “Roaming as at home” service from 28 to 32 countries, including Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Cyprus, starting December 18.
For subscribers abroad, roaming limits of UAH 2,000 and UAH 4,000 will be introduced from January 1, which will help avoid unexpected Internet costs.
As reported, Kyivstar received EBITDA of UAH 7.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025, which is 21.5% more than in the third quarter of 2024, and in dollars, the growth was 20.4% to $171 million.
Kyivstar served 22.5 million mobile subscribers in the third quarter of 2025, which is 3.6% less than a year earlier, but the number of 4G customers grew by 2.4% to 15 million.
The level of outages is now one of the highest since the summer of 2024, resulting in over 30% of the network of the largest mobile operator Kyivstar being without power, says the company’s CEO Alexander Komarov, advising fixed internet users to ensure they have backup power for their routers so that everyone can stay connected for longer.
“Today is a very difficult day. One of the most difficult since the summer of 2024. As of 9 a.m., more than 30% of the network is without power, almost evenly distributed across the country. Five regional technology centers are running on generators,” Komarov wrote on Facebook on Thursday morning.
According to him, for the most part, the network has been running on batteries and generators for most of the day. “Unfortunately, about 4% of sites have lost their functionality,” the CEO said.
He recalled that in preparation for prolonged blackouts, the company had reserved 99% of the Home Internet network for up to 12 hours of autonomous operation before the start of autumn, installing more than 80,000 modern LiFePO4 batteries and investing almost UAH 300 million in this in 2024-2025.
“This way, when there is no electricity, the fixed network remains operational. But in order to use the Internet for as long as possible, subscribers should do their part of the ‘backup’ — connect their routers to a backup power supply. A power bank, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), or charging station will suffice,” Komarov explained.
At the same time, according to his data, as of mid-November, only 15-20% of Home Internet subscribers had taken care of backup power for their routers, and during the recent total blackout in the Poltava region, the customer reserve was only 2%.
“And then everything is interconnected: users switch to mobile Internet, the load on base stations increases, their autonomous operation time is reduced, and the quality of mobile communication and data transfer speed deteriorate,” the head of the largest mobile operator described the current situation.
He called on customers to do their part to provide backup solutions for the network so that the country remains connected.
As noted, after the attack on November 8 and subsequent ones, Ukrenergo imposes restrictions on up to four queues every day, which in many regions means no electricity for more than 12 hours a day.
Kyivstar served 22.5 million mobile subscribers in the third quarter of 2025, which is 3.6% less than a year earlier, but the number of 4G customers grew by 2.4% to 15 million. In addition, it had more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers. In early September, Komarov announced that the company had over 16,000 telecom sites.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, reported EBITDA of UAH 7.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 21.5% from the third quarter of 2024, and growth of 20.4% in dollar terms to $171 million.
“Stable high profitability reflects disciplined cost management against the backdrop of revenue growth and the implementation of Kyivstar’s digital strategy,” Kyivstar Group Ltd said in its quarterly report on Monday.
According to the report, total revenue grew by 20.9% to UAH 12.3 billion, and in dollars by 19.8% to $297 million, while mobile ARPU for the year increased by 14.0% to UAH 153.1 ($3.7).
Adjusted net income was $73 million, but this figure does not include non-cash expenses of $162 million recognized in the third quarter of 2025 in connection with Kyivstar’s listing. Without adjustments, the loss for the third quarter of 2025 was $89 million, the report said.
According to the report, direct digital revenues grew to 11.9% of total revenues thanks to a 6.3-fold increase to UAH 1.5 billion ($35 million), which in turn was driven by the consolidation of Uklon.
It is noted that the total number of mobile subscribers for the year decreased by 3.6% to 22.5 million, but the number of 4G customers increased by 2.4% to 15 million.
The report states that the total number of monthly active digital users reached 13.5 million. In particular, Uklon had 3.6 million users in the third quarter of 2025, Helsi had 2.5 million, KyivstarTV had 2.1 million users, and MyKyivstar had 5.2 million. These results were driven by the initial consolidation of Uklon, the continued expansion of Helsi’s digital medical services, and the strong absorption of Kyivstar TV, the report says.
In particular, in the third quarter, Uklon, which was consolidated into Kyivstar’s reporting in April 2025, received revenue of UAH 1.027 million, or $24.4 million. Its EBITDA amounted to UAH 378 million, or $9.1 million. Trips in the third quarter of 2025 increased by 17.2% to 42.2 million, and deliveries increased by 33.3% compared to the same period in 2024 to 1.2 million.
KyivstarTV increased its revenue 2.4 times in the third quarter of 2025, to UAH 140 million. The number of user sessions on KyivstarTV increased by 30.7% in the third quarter of 2025, reaching 670 million, while the number of minutes viewed by active users per day increased by 21.1%, reaching 244 million.
It is noted that the Helsi medical information system increased its revenue by 50% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 75 million. The program has more than 38,000 active specialists and doctors, more than 1,600 healthcare facilities, 2.2 million appointments made by patients through the platform, and more than 28 million registered users.
In the third quarter of 2025, big data processing and cloud services generated UAH 222 million in revenue, which is 80.5% more than in the previous year. The report states that the growth was driven by large-scale solutions for big data analytics, advertising technologies (AdTech), cloud productivity and collaboration services, as well as API-based connectivity and data exchange services.
According to the report, Kyivstar continues to develop its large language model (LLM) project in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the WINWIN Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. In particular, in the third quarter of 2025, the project strategy was defined and the legal framework for data transfer was established. The release of the first version of the Ukrainian LLM is scheduled for December 2025.
Kyivstar’s growth strategy includes maintaining its leadership in the mobile communications market, Direct to Cell technology, and stable ARPU growth. In the digital sphere, the company’s priorities are to expand its digital offerings, focusing on increasing multi-user services.
As reported, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 39.5% to UAH 12.85 billion in the first half of 2025, while its revenue grew by 36.1% to UAH 22.58 billion.
The main shareholder of Kyivstar Group, with an 89.6% stake, is the telecommunications holding company VEON, which was its 100% owner until Kyivstar was listed on the stock exchange in August 2025.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, may acquire Sanvin 11 LLC (Odesa), which owns a 12.95 MW solar power plant in Zhytomyr region that was commissioned in 2019.
According to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine on its website, the issue of granting the relevant permission will be considered on Thursday.
According to YouControl, Sanvin 11 is currently owned on a parity basis by Czech citizen Natalia Bogachova and Israeli citizen Peter Rosenkrantz through the Cypriot company Merestono Limited.
Last year, the company increased its revenue by 16% to UAH 89.0 million, while its net profit grew by 62.9% to UAH 33.2 million.
Kyivstar serves nearly 23 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home internet subscribers. Recently, the company, which accumulated a significant amount of free cash during the war amid currency restrictions, has been actively investing in other industries and expects to reap synergies from these investments.
Its portfolio of digital services includes the Helsi medical platform, the Kyivstar TV film and television platform, and Uklon, a leading ride-hailing and delivery company. Kyivstar is also a provider of solutions for corporate clients, offering cloud technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence services. Through its Kyivstar.Tech division, the company is developing software development in Ukraine and is a partner for international technology companies such as Starlink.
In the second quarter of this year, Kyivstar increased its net profit by 18.6% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 3.4 billion, while its operating revenue grew by 25.9%, to UAH 11.86 billion.
