Data centres are the new front line in the Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine struck and partly disabled a data centre operated by Russian technology company Yandex on Friday, a day after it hit a larger and more important facility, widening its attacks on Russia after Moscow targeted data hubs inside Ukraine.

Yandex, which is heavily involved in Russia’s AI development and is sometimes called Russia’s Google, said its data centre in the Kaluga region, south-west of Moscow, had been struck by Ukrainian drones and partly put out of action.

On Thursday, a Ukrainian attack shut down Yandex’s major data hub in Sasovo in the Ryazan region, which houses two of the three supercomputers used to develop the company’s AI model. Yandex said it was assessing the damage from that strike and could not confirm whether the equipment could be restored.

Locked in an escalating and deadly war of attrition after more than four years of fighting, both Russia and Ukraine have expanded drone attacks on infrastructure this year – from energy facilities and refineries to ports, vessels carrying oil and grain, e-commerce warehouses and, most recently, data centres.

Yandex, whose apps have become an indispensable part of many Russians’ lives, said the attacks had struck at the core of its operations and that it was trying to keep its services running.

“Data centres are the iron heart of Yandex. Their operation is critical for services that have become part of people’s everyday lives. Millions of users check traffic and plan routes, listen to music, watch movies, order groceries and get answers to their questions,” it said in a statement.

“Our technology helps hundreds of thousands of companies run their businesses. They use it to take orders, serve customers and work with partners.”

“The risks involve not only the potential temporary unavailability of Yandex services and lost revenue in specific segments but also the company’s extensive base of B2B clients,” said Maryana Lazaricheva, head of equity research at T-Investments.

She said the company could redistribute some of the load to its other data centres. “However, if the chain of attacks continues, this possibility vanishes, which could lead to even more severe consequences.”

The full extent of the disruption was not immediately clear, although messages appeared on at least one Yandex app warning of potential problems. Yandex said it was working around the clock to restore disrupted services.

“Right now, this is our most important task, but unfortunately it is not an easy one,” it said,

Russia has struck Ukrainian data centres and telecommunications infrastructure over the past month, including targets in central Kyiv.

“We always respond in mirror-like fashion,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. “You all know, they have been hitting and continue to hit our data centres. We are responding. I can’t share all the details.”

Ukraine has previously targeted the warehouses of companies inside Russia that it deems central to Russia’s economy, including e-commerce giants Wildberries and Ozon, which prompted Russia to strike their Ukrainian equivalents.