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Ukraine’s drones knock out AI data center belonging to "Russia’s Google"

Ukrainian drone strikes on October 8 and 9 knocked out two of five Yandex data centers in Russia's Sasovo and Kaluga regions, according to Reuters. The damage has left Yandex, often called "Russia's Google," struggling to maintain its AI chatbot and other online services. Ukraine said the strikes were a symmetrical response to Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian data centers since late September. President Zelenskyy confirmed another data center was hit as part of the response.

AI Brief

This event highlights the vulnerability of AI infrastructure to geopolitical conflict and its direct impact on AI service availability.

Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked out two of five data centers belonging to the Russian tech giant Yandex. The damage has left Yandex, known as “Russia’s google” because it operates the country’s most popular search engine, struggling to maintain its AI chatbot and other online services.

The Ukrainian drones struck Yandex data centers in the Sasovo and Kaluga regions of Russia on October 8 and October 9, according to Reuters. Those actions came as a direct response to a Russian drone strike campaign targeting Ukraine’s data centers, which has disrupted mobile phone and Internet services for thousands of Ukrainians since late September.

“We continue to respond to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, and we’re doing so with high precision,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on X. “Another data center was hit as well—our symmetrical response.”

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