Russian search engine Yandex struggles after Ukrainian strikes on data centres

[Yandex Faces Severe Service Disruption Following Ukrainian Drone Campaign Targeting Core Infrastructure]

The Russian technology conglomerate Yandex is grappling with ongoing difficulties in sustaining its digital platforms after Ukrainian drones struck two of its five data centers within a brief span.

Often referred to as “Russia’s Google,” the company manages the nation’s most popular search portal as well as widely adopted food‑ordering solutions and taxis that serve tens of millions of citizens.

President Volodymyr Zelensky declared the attacks as retaliatory countermeasures to weeks of sustained Russian offensives against Ukrainian facilities.

Both belligerents have escalated attacks on essential infrastructure in recent months as warfare resumes; Kyiv asserts its strikes aim to disrupt Moscow’s war economy, while analysts warn possible ripple effects on Yandex’s operational stability.

Yandex reported that its campus in Sasovo, situated in the Ryazan region, suffered “serious damage” due to a drone engagement late Wednesday night, leading to complete cessation of its operations.

Additionally, a second site in Kaluga endured assault early Friday, leaving portions of its infrastructure “out of service”.

Company leadership emphasized that these facilities constitute the backbone of Yandex’s core services and noted that restoring full functionality is currently beyond straightforward parameters.

Despite frantic efforts by engineering and support crews working continuously day and night, restoring availability proves exceptionally challenging.

No employee injuries were confirmed following the strike waves, though local authorities in Kaluga mentioned nine civilians harmed in combat‑related incidents involving drone activity.

The true scale of service interruption remains uncertain, prompting state news agency Tass to report temporary degradation of select AI assistant features and potential instability in connected smart‑home ecosystems.

Yandex previously highlighted that its Kaluga installation ranks among the largest in Russia, covering 130,000 square metres and drawing an annual electricity load comparable to 220,000 household units.

Conversely, its Sasovo branch hosts two of the three supercomputers pivotal to development of Yandex’s proprietary AI architecture; the survival status of these machines under fire remains unverified.

Ukraine’s defence ministry corroborated the strikes, suggesting they may compel Moscow to allocate additional resources for repairing compromised capacity.

Zelensky characterized Kyiv’s campaign as a deliberate mirror image of prior Russian offensive measures against civilian infrastructure.

Earlier in the month, a Syrian‑targeted drone strike in Kyiv killed four individuals and inflicted damage upon a data facility, subsequently plunging approximately 100,000 households in the capital and surrounding districts into prolonged internet blackouts.

Consequently, numerous Ukrainian corporate entities have commenced migration of critical workloads from compromised servers to alternative offshore facilities.

On the Russian side, the executive branch defends the targeting of claimed military communications hubs and cites analogous conduct from Moscow over preceding years.

Nevertheless, Kyiv denounces these strikes as intentional sabotage of civilian lifelines, arguing that the broader conflict justification supersedes localized security rationales.

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