Ukrainian drone strikes have disabled two of the five data centers operated by the Russian tech company Yandex. The attacks, which took place on October 8 and 9, targeted facilities in the Sasovo and Kaluga regions of Russia. According to Reuters, the damage has impaired Yandex's ability to maintain its AI chatbot and other online services. Yandex is widely referred to as "Russia's Google" due to its operation of the country's most popular search engine.
These strikes are a direct response to a Russian drone campaign that has targeted Ukraine's data centers since late September. That offensive has disrupted mobile phone and Internet services for thousands of Ukrainians. In a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the country continues to respond to Russian attacks with high precision. He described the hit on another data center as a symmetrical response to the ongoing hostilities.