In brief
A Ukrainian drone strike damaged a Yandex data centre east of Moscow, halting operations and bringing a third such attack that week. The strike left no casualties but disrupted services including the AI chatbot and smart‑home apps. Russia and Ukraine continue a high‑intensity war that increasingly targets data infrastructure, forcing divisions of resources toward repairs while international comments call for reduced targeting of oil facilities.
Ukrainian drones struck a Yandex data centre in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, causing extensive fire and damaging the facility’s infrastructure. The Russian tech giant, known as “Russia’s Google,” announced that the attack had permanently suspended operations at that site, though it is working to restore connectivity.
Yandex said the strike was the third time the company’s data centres have been hit within the week, after earlier attacks on sites in Sasovo and Kaluga. No personnel were injured, but several services—including its AI chatbot and smart‑home devices—became unavailable to users.
Both sides of the conflict have ramped up targeting of key information‑technology assets amid a fifth‑year war. Kyiv has stated that it focuses on revenue‑generating targets that support Moscow’s war effort, arguing that such assaults could force Russia to divert resources to repair damaged sites.
The day after the Vladimir strike, U.S. President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, a move that sparked condemnation from European leaders and diplomatic tension between Moscow and Kyiv over the diesel deal. Meanwhile, Russian martial law forces continued their own offensive, sustaining casualties and infrastructure damage across Ukraine’s south‑eastern and southeastern regions.
Yandex’s Telegram channel noted that the company’s data centres are critical to the normal operation of its services, and that it is “very difficult to predict” when full service levels will be restored. The incident underscores the vulnerability of digital back‑bones during protracted conflicts, with some firms now considering relocating their servers abroad.
