A third Yandex data center in Russia was struck by Ukrainian drones over the weekend, leading to a complete shutdown of the facility and further disruptions to various online services across the country. This latest attack, which occurred on Sunday night, targeted a Yandex site in Vladimir, following earlier strikes on two other data centers in the Ryazan and Kaluga regions last week.
Yandex confirmed the shutdown, stating that the remaining infrastructure is unstable and that the platform is operating in emergency mode. The recent drone strikes have forced two of Yandex’s six data centers to cease operations entirely, while a third facility sustained damage. The first attack took place overnight on October 7-8, targeting a data center in Sasovo, Ryazan, which resulted in a fire and the facility’s closure. This site is known to house two of Yandex’s three supercomputers used for artificial intelligence training.
Widespread Service Disruptions
The second strike hit a data center in Kaluga on October 9, damaging part of its infrastructure. Yandex reported no injuries among employees, but emergency responders were deployed to the site. The latest facility targeted in Vladimir houses Galushkin, another powerful supercomputer, although Yandex has not disclosed whether any supercomputers were damaged in the attacks. Collectively, the three affected data centers have a capacity of approximately 115 megawatts.
The attacks have severely disrupted Yandex Cloud services, which provide computing infrastructure to thousands of businesses. Users have reported difficulties accessing email, booking taxis, ordering food, and making payments through Yandex Pay. Additionally, the company’s Alice voice assistant and connected smart home devices have ceased functioning in some households. The full extent of the disruptions remains unclear, but Yandex Cloud served around 64,000 customers as of mid-2026, and the company has not specified how many were impacted by the recent attacks.
Response and Mitigation Efforts
In light of the ongoing disruptions, Yandex has advised its cloud customers to consider alternative recovery plans rather than relying solely on its infrastructure. Reports indicate that Yandex has reached agreements with competing cloud providers, including Selectel, K2Cloud, and VK Cloud, to assist affected customers in migrating their data and services more swiftly.
Yandex described its data centers as the “iron heart” of the company, acknowledging the significant impact of the outages on daily operations. The company has updated its terms of service to limit liability for disruptions caused by drone strikes, potentially restricting customers’ ability to seek compensation. Discussions within the Russian government are underway to enhance protection for the country’s digital infrastructure, with the Digital Development Minister stating that measures are being developed in collaboration with the Defense Ministry.
Context of the Attacks
The drone strikes on Yandex facilities come in the wake of Russian attacks that previously damaged several Ukrainian data centers and telecommunications infrastructure, disrupting internet access for thousands. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attacks on Russian data centers as a form of retaliation for ongoing strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, emphasizing that Ukraine responds in kind to such aggressions.
The situation remains fluid, with the potential for further developments as both sides continue to engage in cyber and physical confrontations targeting critical infrastructure.
For more details, see the report by The Record.
