2026 will become the final year of 3G technology usage for Kyivstar in Ukraine. This was announced by the CEO and President of Kyivstar, Oleksandr Komarov, during a conference call on Thursday regarding the operator’s Q1 2026 financial results.
Commenting on Kyivstar’s performance in the first quarter of 2026, Oleksandr Komarov stated:
“Kyivstar is demonstrating strong results at the beginning of 2026. Revenue from digital services more than doubled year-over-year and already accounts for 21% of total revenue. The core telecom business continues to deliver stable results thanks to the ongoing migration to 4G, the growing popularity of multiplay services, and, consequently, higher ARPU.”
According to him, given this momentum, Kyivstar has raised its financial forecast for 2026 and continues to invest in Ukraine’s digital future, creating long-term value for shareholders.
Among the company’s strategic development priorities are the following:
• The Group expanded cooperation with SpaceX by adding resale of high-speed Starlink internet for business customers. More than 5 million users are already connected to the satellite network through Starlink Direct to Cell, enabling text messaging capabilities. The launch of OTT applications and the Light Data service is planned later in 2026.
• The Group’s digital ecosystem was strengthened through the successful consolidation of Tabletki.ua in February 2026.
• Uklon continued its transformation into a mobility platform with a single entry point by launching the Travel service for booking bus transportation in Ukraine and abroad.
• The Group made progress in developing a national large language model (LLM), which was named “Syayvo” following a public vote in the Diia app.
• Kyivstar strengthened its position in the fixed internet market by integrating around 52,000 subscribers following the acquisition of internet provider Shtorm.
Kyivstar also announced that in the first quarter of 2026, total revenue increased by 26.6% year-over-year (“YoY”) to USD 323 million (up 31.3% YoY to UAH 13.9 billion). EBITDA grew by 23.5% YoY to USD 173 million (up 28.5% YoY to UAH 7.5 billion), with an EBITDA margin of 53.5%. Net profit for the quarter amounted to USD 85 million, while earnings per share reached USD 0.37.
As of May 2026, Kyivstar serves approximately 22.4 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million fixed internet users (“Home Internet”).
Photo: Kyivstar
