Russia’s internet giant Yandex halts operations at major data center after drone attack

Russian internet giant Yandex suspended operations at one of its key data centers on Thursday after a drone strike as Ukraine continues to target the country’s infrastructure.

The attack caused a fire at the company’s data center in Sasovo, Ryazan, in western Russia, and affected part of its infrastructure, Yandex said in a statement to CNBC. The data center has stopped operating entirely, and some Yandex services may be unavailable to users, it added.

“There are no casualties, and emergency services are on site dealing with the aftermath,” Yandex said.

Moscow-headquartered Yandex, known as the Google of Russia, provides the country’s most widely used search engine. It also developed the region’s leading generative AI model, YandexGPT.

Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the Yandex attack, it has been stepping up its attacks on Russian infrastructure, including energy, over recent months, such as targeting Russian oil refineries, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said are used to “finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians.”

Ukraine also increased attacks on Russian retail giant Wildberries, a critical part of the consumer infrastructure.

Last week, Zelenskyy said the country will double down on its attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to a new policy of airstrikes from Moscow designed to force people to leave Kyiv and other cities.