Vodafone Group and Ukraine’s second-largest mobile operator, VF Ukraine (Vodafone Ukraine, VFU), will begin construction of a new high-speed submarine cable system in the Black Sea, creating a digital corridor between Europe and Asia, according to a company release on Monday.
It is noted that the Kardesa submarine fiber-optic communication network will connect Ukraine, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey. The first cable landing is planned in Bulgaria in 2027, followed by Turkey, Georgia, and Ukraine.
In a Telegram channel, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov specified that the project budget is over EUR100 million.
The mobile operator added that the general contractor for the project will be Xtera, a company that implements high-performance turnkey underwater telecom solutions and builds and commissions advanced underwater cable systems in more than 60 countries around the world.
“One of the key points of our Strategy for the Development of Electronic Communications until 2030 is to build more international Internet highways to create a sustainable Internet in Ukraine,” Fedorov emphasized.
According to him, thanks to this communication line, the Black Sea region will receive an additional 500 terabits/s of Internet bandwidth.
“Submarine cables provide 97-98% of international Internet traffic, so this project is important for the development of the digital ecosystem of the entire region,” Fedorov wrote.
The first deputy prime minister specified that the project will ensure digital sovereignty and the stability of telecommunications infrastructure, investments in the telecom sector, high-speed and secure internet for Ukrainians, and will also serve as a link in internet traffic between Europe and Asia, bypassing Russia.
As reported, Vodafone Ukraine reduced its net profit by 13% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, to UAH 1.705 billion, while its revenue grew by 15%, to UAH 13.518 billion.
In the first half of the year, the company increased its investments by 66% compared to the same period in 2024, investing more than UAH 3.5 billion in critical infrastructure, and in total, over 3.5 years of full-scale war, investments in Ukraine reached almost UAH 19 billion. In the structure of investments in the first half of this year, 51% is accounted for by the construction and restoration of the network, as well as its preparation for operation during blackouts, 31% – network maintenance, 11% – fixed communications development, and 4% – the billing exchange program.
Vodafone Ukraine has been part of NEQSOL Holding since December 2019.
