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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Concentration of Ukrainians' personal data, including information about communication, movement, treatment, and purchase of medicines, in the Kyivstar group, where Russian economic interests are stored, creates risks to national security. Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and Andrey Kosogov have approximately 43,4% indirect economic participation in Kyivstar Group through foreign companies. This assessment and calculations are presented by Vladyslav Nedashkovskyi in the BusinessCensor investigation.
After acquiring Uklon, Helsi, and Tabletki.ua, the group merged services that process various aspects of people's everyday life. The operator has data on device locations and payments, Uklon on addresses and routes, Helsi on visits to doctors and prescriptions, Tabletki.ua on search and booking of medicines.
"We know where this client is. We know what transport he uses," the publication quotes Kyivstar Group president Oleksandr Komarov, who explained to Nasdaq the advantages of big data.
Kyivstar Group's reporting also directly states that Helsi collects, stores, and processes sensitive medical information and patient records that require enhanced confidentiality.
The publication notes that the documents do not prove the existence of a single database, but they directly record audience migration and analytical synergies.
"Therefore the phrase 'big Fridman tracks you' is of course an abstraction. However, it reflects a quite concrete systemic risk: Fridman's and his partners' capital through LetterOne remains in the ecosystem of communications, routes, medicine, medicines, and media consumption," the material states.
The scale of the business covers millions of Ukrainians: by the end of June 2026 of the year the mobile base stood at 21,8 million customers. The total number of active users of digital products reached 29,3 million in the quarter. This is not the count of unique people: the same person may use several services of the group.
At the same time, Russian co-owners remained in the corporate chain. According to the journalist's calculations, Fridman's indirect economic interest in Kyivstar Group is about 16,9%, Aven's 5,4%, Kosogov's 21,1%. It is preserved through LetterOne and VEON.
VEON owns about 83,6% of Kyivstar Group and the majority of voting shares. LetterOne is the largest shareholder of VEON, and almost all of LetterOne's capital belongs to the aforementioned trio. The 43,4% figures characterize economic participation through this chain, not a direct voting stake in Ukrainian PrAT Kyivstar.
Fridman and Aven's exit from the board and restrictions on payments did not terminate their ownership rights. Kyivstar Group's appearance on Nasdaq did not change VEON's control over the group.
The publication also recalls activity of businesses connected to these owners in Russia. According to Schemes, AlfaStrakhovanie, during Fridman and his partners' ownership, insured Rosgvardiya service vehicles. The SBU informed Fridman of suspicion of financing Russian aggression, including through investments in military factories.
The investigation does not establish that customer personal data were transmitted to Fridman, or that all services have already consolidated them into a common database. The question lies in the risks of concentration of sensitive information and uncertainty regarding access barriers to it.
In the author's conclusion, blocking the rights of individual shareholders does not solve this problem: Russian capital remains in a business that covers more and more spheres of Ukrainian life.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Російська участь у "Київстарі" загрожує національній безпеці – "БізнесЦензор"". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
