Yandex, the Russian technology company often compared to Google, announced on Sunday that its data centre in Vladimir has been completely shut down following a drone attack. The facility, located east of Moscow, suffered damage that forced the suspension of all operations.
The company reported no injuries from the incident. Emergency services arrived at the site to assess the damage, but Yandex stated that several of its online services were unavailable to users while it worked to restore systems.
Operations Suspended in Vladimir
In a service alert posted on Telegram, Yandex advised users to activate disaster-recovery plans. The company described the remaining resource configuration as unstable and warned that technical support communications could also be disrupted as teams evaluated the extent of the damage.
“Operations at the data centre have been completely suspended,” the company said. It added that the platform was operating in emergency mode.
This event marks the third attack on Yandex facilities in the last week. On Friday, the company reported that a data centre in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, was struck by Ukrainian drones and partially taken out of action. A day earlier, a separate attack shut down a data hub in Sasovo, southeast of Moscow.
Escalating Attacks on Tech Infrastructure
The strikes on Yandex facilities highlight a growing trend in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have increasingly targeted each other’s technology infrastructure. Yandex is heavily involved in Russia’s artificial intelligence development and houses two of the three supercomputers used to develop its AI model at the Sasovo site.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the pattern of attacks on Thursday. “We always respond in mirror-like fashion,” he said. “You all know, they have been hitting and continue to hit our data centres. We are responding. I can’t share all the details.”
Russia has also conducted strikes against Ukrainian data centres and telecommunications facilities over the past month. These attacks have targeted infrastructure in central Kyiv and other areas, appearing to be an effort to disrupt the country’s connectivity and digital commerce.
Yandex continues to operate in emergency mode as it assesses the full impact of the Vladimir strike. The company has not yet provided a timeline for the full restoration of services at the facility.
Source: Al Jazeera
