A Ukrainian drone slammed into a Yandex data centre near Moscow, forcing the Russian search‑engine giant to pause operations and temporarily shutting down services such as its AI chatbot. The hit, the third on Yandex sites this week, damaged a facility in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. No workers were injured, but the company said some services—including smart‑home devices—were unavailable while repairs were underway.
Russia and Ukraine have increasingly targeted each other’s critical infrastructure. Kyiv claims its attacks aim to cripple Moscow’s war‑machine revenue, while Russian strikes have also hit Ukrainian data hubs, causing internet outages. Each strike forces Yandex to divert resources to repairs, extending the conflict into the digital realm.
Yesterday’s blow followed a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine should stop hitting Russian oil refineries—a statement that sparked a diplomatic row with President Volodymyr Zelensky and drew criticism from Europe.
With each strike, Yandex and other tech firms scramble to restore connectivity, highlighting how modern wars now juggle both physical and cyber battles.
