Yandex Data Centers Targeted in Drone Strikes Amid Ongoing Conflict

Yandex, a leading technology and AI company in Russia, reported that its data center in the Kaluga region was struck by drones on October 9, 2026. This incident followed a previous attack on October 8 at its facility in Sasovo, Ryazan, which resulted in a complete operational shutdown due to a significant fire.

The Kaluga data center, Yandex's largest facility, spans approximately 130,000 square meters and houses over 3,800 server racks. Following the drone strikes, Yandex confirmed that several modules at the Kaluga site were disabled, although there were no reported casualties from either attack. However, Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha noted that nine individuals were injured during the drone strikes in the region.

The Sasovo facility, which plays a critical role in training YandexGPT, the company's flagship AI model, was particularly impacted as it housed two essential supercomputers named Lyapunov and Chervonenkis. The fire at this site halted operations entirely, and Yandex has not yet provided a timeline for restoration.

The attacks have also affected Yandex's clients, including major enterprises like Russian Railways and mobile operator MegaFon, leading to temporary outages in Yandex Cloud services. Following the news of the second strike, Yandex shares fell approximately 4% on the Moscow Exchange.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the drone strikes as retaliation for previous Russian military actions targeting Ukrainian data centers, indicating a potential shift in the conflict towards mutual targeting of digital and AI assets.