Kyivstar posts 17.5% revenue growth as war-battered network stays online

Kyivstar grew third-quarter revenue 17.5% year-over-year to $349 million despite Russia's continuing assaults on Ukrainian infrastructure. The VEON-owned operator's EBITDA climbed 10.3% to $189 million in the same period.

Mobile ARPU rose 8.6% to $4, driven by 20% higher data usage and 4G penetration of 71.5%. Broadband customers grew 11.3% to 1.3 million, helped by an open access agreement with Ukrtelecom that lets Kyivstar serve residential Internet customers over Ukrtelecom's fiber network.

Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov said: "Our network stayed online even in the most demanding conditions. The stronger our business, the more we can lead the way in keeping Ukraine connected, healthy and on the move."

For operators in contested markets, the numbers show infrastructure resilience can translate into commercial performance. Kyivstar has already drafted in Starlink to bolster its war-damaged network, and the Q3 results suggest traffic demand is holding despite the conflict.

What else happened across EMEA?

Vodafone Ireland targets 5G SA for 70% of population. Trials of 5G standalone begin this year in Limerick and Shannon, expanding to Cork, Dublin, Galway and Waterford next year, with more than 70% population coverage targeted by 2028. Vodafone plans to use network slicing, a 5G SA capability, to reserve capacity for critical applications or particular user groups. UK experience suggests caution on slicing timelines, as the technology is not yet ready for prime time there.

Cellnex grows revenue while cutting costs. The Spanish towerco reported first-nine-month adjusted EBITDA up 6.5% year-over-year on revenue up 2.4% to just over €3 billion ($3.35 billion). Like-for-like operating expenses fell 4.4% even as Cellnex operated 2,900 additional towers, pushing cost per tower down 3.5%. Investment dropped 22% to €1.11 billion ($1.24 billion). CEO Marco Patuano said: "Cellnex is demonstrating that it can grow while using less capital and operating its portfolio more efficiently."

Helsinki court jails cable sabotage crew. A Russian ship captain and another crew member received prison sentences for deliberate subsea cable damage in the Gulf of Finland, YLE reports. The anchor-dragging incident involved the cargo ship Fitburg on the morning of last New Year's Eve and echoed a similar event a year or so earlier involving the Eagle S. Both men denied the crime and asked for the charges to be dismissed.

How did African operators perform?

MTN Rwanda added subscribers at a 7.5% annual clip in Q3, reaching 8.7 million. Service revenue increased 20% to 259.4 billion Rwandan francs ($170 million) and EBITDA jumped 29.1% to Rwf112.7 billion ($75 million). Users of MTN's MoMo mobile money service grew 12% to 6.5 million, confirming the payments engine remains Africa's growth story.

Safaricom posted record growth in Ethiopia in the first six months of its 2026 fiscal year, with service revenue soaring 71.6% year-over-year to 10.6 billion Kenyan shillings ($80 million). Ethiopia contributed 17% of group service revenue growth. In Kenya, service revenue grew 11.3% to KES216 billion ($1.6 billion).

What about the UK?

O2 switched on 5G SA in more Derbyshire towns and villages, reaching roughly 380,000 additional people. The upgrades form part of the operator's £700 million ($937 million) Mobile Transformation Plan for 2026.

Three UK, in the process of being absorbed into Vodafone, signed a five-year, multi-million-pound deal with US vendor Amdocs, consolidating its OSS operations with a single supplier.

Kyivstar's results point the way for the region's operators: sustained investment in network resilience, paired with fixed-mobile convergence deals like the Ukrtelecom arrangement, is what keeps revenue growing when conditions turn hostile.