Ukraine targets Yandex data centers in drone retaliation

Ukraine's drone strikes damaged two Russian data centers in October 2026, disrupting services for millions of Russian users.

Ukraine's drone strikes damaged two of five Yandex data centers in Russia's Sasovo and Kaluga regions on October 8-9, 2026. The Sasovo facility housed supercomputers used for training YandexGPT AI. Ukrainian company Firepoint deployed FP-1 one-way attack drones in the Kaluga strike. Yandex reported no employee injuries but acknowledged service disruptions affecting Russian users' access to Ivi streaming, T-Bank banking, Russian Railways, and other platforms. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described the strikes as a 'symmetrical response' to Russian drone campaigns targeting Ukrainian infrastructure since late September 2026.

This disruption temporarily gates digital services for Russian citizens, reducing access to critical financial, communication, and entertainment tools during ongoing conflict. The impact reflects a broader pattern of drone warfare in the region since Russia's 2022 invasion. Service disruptions were reported by Meduza and Reuters, while Yandex's designation as 'Russia’s Google' comes from the source text. The strikes occurred amid active conflict, not as a standalone event.

Source: Ars Technica