Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, has announced its vision to increase the share of revenue from digital services to 50% in the future, a figure that has risen to 20% in recent years.
“Our vision is that one day our revenue from digital services will equal our revenue from telecommunications. We’ve reached 20% now. We still need 30%,” Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov said at Forbes Money on Thursday.
According to him, thanks to this year’s acquisition of Tabletki, the company already has more digital customers than telecom customers: the group’s digital businesses reached a three-month audience of 28 million users, compared to 22 million in the telecom business.
“In other words, we are moving forward with the implementation of our strategy. We understand that the core value today, unfortunately, is not created by the presence of a telecom connection,” Komarov added.
He clarified that the company is currently building an ecosystem of various digital services around its core offering, which is the telecom business.
“But perhaps in five years, the core offering will be, for example, the ‘Uklon’ offering. In other words, this creates a field of opportunities for the development of the Kyivstar Group,” said the president of Kyivstar.
Komarov noted that the company’s investment payback period is estimated at around 5–6 years.
“We don’t factor synergies into the deals, but we certainly keep in mind what synergies we can achieve. For example, the synergies between Kyivstar and Tabletki are quite insignificant, but the synergies between Tabletki and Helsi are quite significant,” the mobile operator’s CEO cited as an example.
He emphasized that it is also important for Kyivstar to reduce its dependence on its core telecom business, as investors are less interested in this sector.
“There is hope that at some point we will be able to position this group as a set of digital assets with a completely different perspective on its valuation,” Komarov explained.
As reported, Kyivstar increased its consolidated EBITDA by 28.5% in the first quarter of 2026—to 7.5 billion UAH—while revenue grew by 31.3%—to 13.9 billion UAH.
The unaudited EBITDA of six solar power plants (SPPs) with a total installed capacity of 105 MW in the Lviv region, which Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar acquired for 3.6 billion UAH (or $80.8 million), amounted to UAH 596 million in 2025.
According to Kyivstar’s presentation on the acquisition, the revenue of these six SPPs, commissioned between 2017 and 2025, totaled UAH 682 million last year.
The operator noted that this investment, calculated at $0.77 million per 1 MW, aligns with one of its four priorities—capital investment in real assets that mitigate inflationary and/or currency risk.
“Renewable energy is one of the key areas of Kyivstar’s investment portfolio, as it opens up opportunities for the further use of ‘green’ electricity to cover part of the company’s energy needs,” Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov is quoted as saying in the press release.
The three other priorities listed are investments in infrastructure reconstruction and preventive network protection, the development of a digital ecosystem through adjacent acquisitions, and increasing the market share of fixed broadband through targeted acquisitions.
Taking into account the initial purchase last December of the 13-MW “Sunwin 11” solar power plant for $3 million in the Zhytomyr region, Kyivstar’s total “green” generation capacity has grown to 118 MW, which enables the production of electricity equivalent to approximately 30% of the company’s current annual consumption, according to the press release.
“Electricity from the acquired solar power plant group will be fed into Ukraine’s unified power grid in accordance with current market and regulatory rules, which will allow Kyivstar to partially hedge risks associated with fluctuations in electricity prices,” Kyivstar explained.
The mobile operator noted that these “green” projects also enable it to build a long-term energy consumption model, strengthen the country’s energy sector, and align with sustainable development goals.
Kyivstar’s stock price rose by 2.18% on May 26, the day the purchase of six solar power plants was announced, reaching $14.51 per share.
As reported, in March of this year, Kyivstar received approval from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) to purchase six solar power plants in the Lviv region: Energo-Postach-Plus LLC, Lightful, Sunlight Generation, Ternovytsia Solar, Energy Space, and Ternovytsia Solar Plus.
In the first quarter of 2026, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 28.5% to UAH 7.5 billion, while revenue grew by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion.
In 2025, the Kyivstar Group increased its EBITDA by 30% to UAH 27 billion, with revenue growing by 30.3% to UAH 48.2 billion. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year, EBITDA increased by 23.1% to UAH 7.2 billion, with revenue growing by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, announced the acquisition of six solar power plants (SPPs) with a total installed capacity of 105 MW in Lviv Oblast for 3.6 billion UAH, or $80.8 million, according to a company statement on Tuesday.
“Renewable energy is one of the key areas of Kyivstar’s investment portfolio, as it opens up opportunities for the further use of ‘green’ electricity to cover part of the company’s energy needs,” Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov is quoted as saying in the release.
Taking into account the initial purchase last December of the 13-MW “Sunwin 11” solar power plant for $3 million in the Zhytomyr region, Kyivstar’s total “green” generation capacity has grown to 118 MW, enabling the company to generate electricity equivalent to approximately 30% of its current annual consumption, the press release states.
“Electricity from the acquired solar power plant group will be fed into Ukraine’s unified power grid in accordance with current market and regulatory rules, which will allow Kyivstar to partially hedge against risks associated with fluctuations in electricity prices,” Kyivstar explained.
The mobile operator noted that these “green” projects also enable it to build a long-term energy consumption model, strengthen the country’s energy sector, and align with sustainable development goals.
“Kyivstar will continue to invest in initiatives that combine technological efficiency, compliance with ESG principles, and support for the Ukrainian economy,” the company noted.
As reported, in March of this year, Kyivstar received approval from the AMCU to purchase six solar power plants in the Lviv region: Energo-Postach-Plus LLC, Lightful, Sunlight Generation, Ternovytsia Solar, Energy Space, and Ternovytsia Solar Plus.
In the first quarter of 2026, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 28.5% to UAH 7.5 billion, while revenue grew by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion.
In 2025, the Kyivstar Group increased its EBITDA by 30% to UAH 27 billion, with revenue growing by 30.3% to UAH 48.2 billion. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year, EBITDA increased by 23.1% to UAH 7.2 billion, with revenue growing by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.
A unified telecom identification infrastructure has been implemented in Ukraine, covering the entire mobile subscriber base of the country based on myGaru technology. All three mobile operators in Ukraine—Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, and lifecell—as well as the fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom, have joined the project.
“Identification is the foundation of data processing—without it, neither accurate data collection, nor data sharing, nor the subsequent activation of advertising communications is possible. Cross-Telecom ID establishes a unified identification standard for the data market, creating conditions for the development of a sovereign data economy in Ukraine,” myGaru CEO Vitaliy Morozhenko is quoted as saying in the press release.
myGaru explained that the technology combines telecom identification with the digital advertising ecosystem. This enables more precise ad delivery in mobile apps, on websites, in addressable TV, and on digital platforms, including Google, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram.
“The implementation of myGaru technology is a step toward an innovative advertising space that combines business efficiency, user privacy protection, and a responsible approach to data security,” commented Andriy Zheleznyak, Director of Big Data at Kyivstar.
Following the launch of telecom identification, companies will also be able to more accurately link ad impressions to user actions, limit the frequency of impressions to a single user within a single campaign, and measure ad performance in real time.
In addition, it is stated that the technology will allow businesses to analyze their audience and provide a secure mechanism for joint data analysis between companies through a special secure mechanism—the myGaru data clinic—using aggregated, anonymized data.
As for personal data, it will not be transferred between parties but will be processed in a secure environment.
“The myGaru-based solution works exclusively with anonymized and aggregated data within the operator’s secure infrastructure. This provides the market with a modern tool for developing digital services without compromising user privacy,” added Kateryna Shulga, Head of Big Data Projects and Programs at lifecell.
It is noted that currently in Ukraine, the advertising service based on cross-telecom ID is provided by the GlobalDigital agency, analytical functionality is provided by the Nexinsight platform, and Adtech is the official operator of the myGaru platform on the Ukrainian market.
myGaru is a company founded in 2019 that works with telecom operators, retailers, publishers, and advertisers to ensure secure, anonymized, cohort-based data processing. It is built as a deep-tech infrastructure for sovereign data ecosystems.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, views the cloud business as a key area for future growth; it recently launched its own cloud business and is seeking opportunities to expand it both organically and through acquisitions
“We recently launched our own cloud business in Ukraine, our own data center, and began commercializing it at the end of 2025,” Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov said on Thursday during a conference call regarding the operator’s Q1 2026 earnings report.
According to him, the company aims to prepare for the post-war growth of the cloud services market in terms of both the range of services and market share and existing capabilities.
“So this is a fairly important part of our business development,” noted Kyivstar’s CEO.
He clarified that currently, the company’s main business in this area is reselling Microsoft services and, to a lesser extent, Amazon services.
In late May, during the “Business Breakfast with Volodymyr Fedorin,” Komarov declined to comment on a possible acquisition of GigaCloud but also noted the group’s interest in strengthening its position in the cloud business.
In June 2025, the mobile operator launched its own cloud service for Ukrainian users, Kyivstar Cloud, which is available to small, medium, and large businesses, as well as public sector organizations.
In the first quarter of 2026, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 28.5% to UAH 7.5 billion, while revenue grew by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion.
According to the financial statements, revenue from the cloud service of the subsidiary Kyivstar.Tech rose from UAH 105 million to UAH 192 million.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, announced that 2026 will be the last year the company uses 3G technology in Ukraine.
“We want to strengthen our technological leadership compared to our competitors,” said Kyivstar CEO and President Alexander Komarov on Thursday during a conference call on the operator’s Q1 2026 financial results.
According to him, the company has nearly completed its licensing obligations to provide 4G coverage to nearly 97% of the country’s population, while also ensuring full LTE coverage along all major roads.
Komarov noted that he does not expect 5G to be rolled out in Ukraine before the end of the war.
“The most likely scenario is something like 12 months after the war. And that is precisely why we view our investments in LTE technology as strategic,” the mobile operator’s CEO noted.
Regarding the decrease in Kyivstar’s subscriber base in the first quarter of 2026 by 0.4 million, or 3%, to 22 million, the company’s CEO noted that this decline reflects a general market trend driven by three factors: a decrease in the number of dual SIM cards, a certain increase in prices, and the overall demographic situation in the country.
At the same time, Komarov pointed out that, according to statistics from the national regulator, Kyivstar has maintained its market share in terms of subscriber numbers and even increased it by 0.1 percentage points in 2025 compared to 2024.
“We have been relatively stable over the past few years, with a subscriber market share of over 47%,” he stated.
As reported, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 28.5% in the first quarter of 2026—to UAH 7.5 billion—while revenue grew by 31.3%—to UAH 13.9 billion.
The ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) for the first quarter of 2026 increased by 18.4% to UAH 166.5 due to increased data consumption and tariff indexation, while the average number of minutes a subscriber uses per month (Mobile MoU) rose by 2.3% to 297.
