Russian Search Engine Yandex Struggles After Ukrainian Strikes on Data Centres
Ukrainian drones have struck two of Yandex’s five data‑centre hubs, crippling the company’s services and signalling a growing tech‑war between the two nations.
Yandex, often called Russia’s Google, manages the country’s leading search engine and its popular food‑ordering and taxi apps that are used by tens of millions. The company said its Sasovo and Kaluga centres were “seriously damaged” with operations completely suspended at the former and partially offline at the latter.
The attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, are a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian data centres. Kyiv wants to hit revenue streams feeding Moscow’s war machine, while Moscow claims the sites were used by Ukrainian intelligence.
Yandex’s Kaluga hub covers about 130,000 square metres and consumes as much electricity as 220,000 UK homes. The Sasovo centre houses two of three super‑computers that train the company’s AI models. Whether those machines survived the strike remains unclear.
The company has reported that some of its AI chatbots and smart‑home devices are temporarily down, though no employee injuries were reported. The regional governor in Kaluga said nine people were injured in the drone attack on the city’s infrastructure.
Ukraine’s defence ministry confirmed the strikes and warned they could force Russia to divert resources to repair capacity, potentially slowing the war effort. The situation highlights the vulnerability of key digital infrastructure in conflict zones and the broader impact of cyber‑mechanised warfare on everyday life.
By Tinshui Yeung
