Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent escalation of attacks on critical Russian infrastructure has drawn condemnation. A Ukrainian drone strike damaged a major data center operated by Russian tech giant Yandex, forcing an immediate shutdown and disrupting digital services for businesses and users across Russia. The facility was located in the Vladimir Region, approximately 180 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
Yandex, Russia’s largest technology company, provides search, ride-hailing, e-commerce, cloud computing, and AI services. Its Yandex Cloud platform is used by more than a third of Russia’s largest companies. According to a statement on Telegram, the attack damaged the data center’s infrastructure, suspended operations entirely, and rendered some Yandex services unavailable to users. No injuries were reported, though emergency crews and engineers worked to restore systems. The company urged cloud customers to activate alternative disaster-recovery plans.
The strike forced Yandex Cloud into emergency mode, causing outages for banks, online marketplaces, delivery services, retail apps, pharmacies, fitness clubs, and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport website. Access to services like Alice AI assistant, Search, Maps, Taxi, and Mail was gradually restored later that day.
This incident marks the third attack on a Yandex hub in four days, amid intensified Ukrainian strikes targeting civilian infrastructure in Russia. Earlier strikes damaged Yandex data centers in Sasovo (Ryazan Region) and Kaluga Region. The attacks follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of Zelensky for rejecting peace deals and worsening global diesel shortages through strikes on Russian refining infrastructure.
Russia has responded by escalating strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, telecommunications networks, mobile operators, and data centers to disrupt internet access and other services.
