Ukraine and Kyivstar Partner to Build Sovereign AI Infrastructure

The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine partnered with telecommunications provider Kyivstar and its parent company, VEON Group, to establish domestic computing capacity for artificial intelligence. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on June 26, 2026, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, Poland.

The initiative focuses on building a sovereign, AI-ready data center within Ukraine to ensure that sensitive data processing for defense technology, financial services, and public administration remains in-country. This move is designed to harden critical infrastructure, reduce latency for real-time applications, and eliminate dependence on foreign technology providers, which became a national security priority following the Russian invasion.

Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov noted that the military is currently the primary consumer of Ukrainian AI and that local processing is essential for security. The project's first phase, supported by VEON's AI1440 strategy, is expected to require 3-5 megawatts of capacity and tens of millions of dollars in funding. Additionally, Kyivstar is developing an AI model based on Google's open-source Gemma to support both civilian and military operations.