- 1990 year. The first connection still through Moscow
- 1992 year. Ukraine received its own domain
- 1993 year. Own channel to the global network
- 2000 year. Ukrainian traffic got a shorter path
- 2001 year. Administration of .UA received a permanent basis
- 2013 year. The emergence of the domain in the Ukrainian language
- 2022 year. Active de-Russification of domains began
- 2022-2023 years. Fewer ties with Russia, more — with the world
On the Independence Day of Ukraine, we decided to recall how the country's own online space was formed. It is an important component of state independence: it encompasses national domains, own networks, direct international connections, and the ability to not depend on the infrastructure of another country.
The first Ukrainian internet connections went through Moscow, and today Ukraine has an extensive infrastructure and many paths to the global network. This process took decades: own channels, domain zones, and traffic exchange points appeared, international routes changed, and after the start of the large-scale war, active de-Russification of the domain space began.
We tell how the Ukrainian internet step by step gained digital independence.
1990 year. The first connection still through Moscow
The history of the Ukrainian internet often begins on December 19, 1990. On this day, Kyiv's "Technosoft" received the first Ukrainian account in the international computer network. The connection allowed sending emails and exchanging files with users in other countries.
Ukraine was still part of the USSR, so the traffic went through the Moscow "Demos," and from there — via a channel to Finland. There were no websites in the usual sense yet, and only certain companies and institutions had access to the network. The internet was primarily used as a working tool for quick information exchange.
Also read: Inventions of Ukrainians in the IT industry
1992 year. Ukraine received its own domain
On December 1, 1992, Ukraine was delegated the national domain .UA. Since then, the country has had its own designation in the global domain name system.
The administration of .UA was entrusted to Ukrainian specialists nominated by the local internet community. Until 2001, they supported the operation of the national domain on a voluntary basis. This team created the rules and developed the Ukrainian domain space in the first years of its existence.
1993 year. Own channel to the global network
The next important step was the emergence of a direct international connection. In 1993, the Ukrainian academic network UARNET, together with the Swedish Space Corporation, built the first satellite channel in Ukraine to global information networks.
Thanks to this, UARNET users gained access to the global network, which no longer depended on the Moscow route. This was one of the first steps towards building an independent internet infrastructure and direct connections with Western partners.
2000 year. Ukrainian traffic got a shorter path
At the beginning of the internet's development, data between two Ukrainian networks could be transmitted through equipment in other countries. Even a request from a Ukrainian user to a Ukrainian site sometimes initially went abroad and then returned.
On August 10, 2000, eight Ukrainian companies agreed to create UA-IX — an internet traffic exchange network. It allowed providers to exchange data directly within the country. This shortened routes, reduced dependence on foreign infrastructure, and made the Ukrainian segment of the internet more resilient.
That same year, forty companies founded the Internet Association of Ukraine. They united to jointly develop the Ukrainian internet services market and represent its interests.
2001 year. Administration of .UA received a permanent basis
The specialists who supported the national domain founded the company "Hostmaster." It took over the administration of .UA and the further development of the rules of the Ukrainian domain space.
This allowed to streamline the system, which had been maintained for almost nine years by a group of enthusiasts.
In the photo, Dmytro Komanuk — one of the founders of the company "Hostmaster" and administrator of the national domain .UA. In 2024, we conducted a large exclusive interview with him about the establishment of the national domain UA.
2013 year. The emergence of the domain in the Ukrainian language
In 2013, Ukraine received the Cyrillic national domain .укр. Thanks to this, domain names can be registered in the Ukrainian language, without the mandatory use of Latin characters.
This was another step towards an independent digital space, where the Ukrainian language is represented at the level of the domain name system itself.
2022 year. Active de-Russification of domains began
After the start of the full-scale invasion, Cityhost initiated de-Russification of domains. The goal was to gradually remove Russian-speaking names and variants formed from the Russian spelling of Ukrainian cities from the Ukrainian domain space.
As part of the Cityhost initiative:
- it was the first among Ukrainian registrars to stop registering new Russian-speaking domain names in the .UA zone;
- it began promoting domains with Ukrainian city names: kyiv.ua instead of kiev.ua, kharkiv.ua instead of kharkov.ua;
- it called on other registrars and administrators of Ukrainian domain zones to support de-Russification.
In 2023, 28 Ukrainian registrars joined the campaign to promote kyiv.ua, conducted under the auspices of the administrator of the national domain .UA. Subsequently, the movement continued in Kharkiv: a joint campaign called for using kharkiv.ua instead of the Russified kharkov.ua. Thus, the de-Russification of domains transformed from an initiative of Cityhost into a collective movement of participants in the Ukrainian domain market.
Also read: Register the correct Ukrainian domains and connect to the site without losing traffic
2022-2023 years. Fewer ties with Russia, more — with the world
After the start of the large war, the routes of the Ukrainian internet changed. The number of foreign networks directly connected to Ukrainian ones increased from about 680 to 1500. At the same time, the share of Russian networks among such connections decreased from 18% to 5%.
How international connections of Ukrainian internet networks changed in 2021–2023. The red line shows the number of foreign networks directly connected to Ukrainian ones, while the yellow bars show the share of Russian networks among these connections.
Source: The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on Peering Connectivity and Internet
Ukrainian providers strengthened ties with international partners. Ukrainian networks already had connections in Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna, Sofia, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. The diversity of providers, traffic exchange points, and international channels helped the Ukrainian internet withstand during shelling and damage to infrastructure.
Digital independence allows Ukraine to independently develop its online space, choose partners, and build reliable connections with the world.
Thank you to everyone who defends Ukraine's independence — on the ground, in the sky, and in the digital space.
