Drone attacks on major data centers in Russia caused disruptions ranging from Yandex digital services to e-commerce websites, real estate platforms, and payment systems, placing the protection of cloud infrastructure and data centers under the scrutiny of the Russian government.
Yandex confirmed that its Sasovo facility in Ryazan Oblast sustained severe damage on October 8 and was taken offline, and that part of the infrastructure at its facility in Kaluga was damaged on October 9. On October 11, another attack shut down the company’s facility in Vladimir Oblast. The company did not announce a final timetable for restoring the affected facilities, while confirming that none of its employees was injured.
Disruptions Spread to Companies Relying on the Cloud
The effects included Yandex Go, Yandex Pay, Yandex Mail, and Yandex Disk, as well as some functions of the Alisa voice assistant and smart-home systems. Websites and applications of companies using Yandex’s cloud infrastructure also experienced access difficulties or reduced operating capacity.
Real estate platform Cian announced on October 14 that its website and application were operating at limited capacity, while M.Video said that its website and application experienced outages due to problems at its cloud service provider before operations resumed the following day. Disruptions also appeared in some services of internet provider Dom.ru, while users outside Russia, particularly in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, reported problems accessing some Yandex applications.
Direct Impact on Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence
The importance of the affected facilities is not limited to application hosting. They contain computing infrastructure that Yandex uses to operate its cloud services and train and run artificial intelligence models. The Sasovo facility houses the Chervonenkis and Lyapunov supercomputers, while the Vladimir facility houses the Galushkin computer, ranked among the most powerful supercomputers in Russia.
To help customers move their data and applications, Yandex began cooperating with Selectel, VK Cloud, and K2 Cloud to restore services at alternative data centers. The company also gradually restored parts of Yandex Pay, smart-home services, and Alisa, but warned that updates to the status of some devices could be delayed and that access restrictions to Yandex Direct and Yandex Business accounts would continue.
Attack Also Hit a Sber Data Center
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sber, confirmed on October 14 that the bank’s facility in the city of Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, had been attacked by a drone. He said that all of the bank’s systems and services were operating normally, with no employees injured. The bank did not disclose the extent of the damage, while Saratov Governor Roman Busargin reported that homes were damaged and one person was killed in the attack on Balakovo.
Why Does This News Matter?
The events show that physical damage to a single data center can quickly develop into a disruption across multiple sectors when many companies depend on one cloud provider or a limited number of operating sites. The restoration of some services and continued outages in others also indicate the importance of geographic distribution and backups, but they do not by themselves prove that these measures are sufficient against simultaneous physical attacks.
Russian Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev said that the government was discussing the protection of these facilities with the Defense Ministry, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the effects of the attacks on Yandex were being discussed at the government level. Financial losses and questions regarding user compensation have not yet been determined, and details of the damage at some sites remain undisclosed.