Yandex has recently had its data centers targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks.
More recently, Ukraine has sought to undermine infrastructure that supports the Russian war machine, as well as services designed to undermine overall support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reports indicate these attacks have had a growing impact on the Russian economy and the country’s ability to support its military and its occupation of Ukraine. Advancements in drone technology by the Ukrainians have also helped to make these attacks highly strategic.
Regarding Yandex, a large Russian tech firm, it has faced four or more attacks on its facilities in recent days, causing widespread outages in payments, cloud services, and other digital tools in Russia and neighboring countries.
On Sunday, Yandex Fintech head Dima Pirogov posted on X that attackers hit its Vladimir data center, disrupting services like Yandex Pay, where users cannot check balances, pay, or transfer money. This includes Russia and surrounding countries.
Pirogov told followers that the funds were safe:
“The money itself is not stored in the data center. Servers are located there, which ensure the operation of services. Records of each account are stored in multiple copies on different platforms. We have verified their integrity: not a single record has been lost.”
He said the company was working to restore services but failed to provide a timeline for restoration.
His report has over 2.4 million views.
Yandex is a household name and near-essential platform for a large share of Russia’s population, while having a significant presence in countries like Belarus and Kazakhstan. While not a global competitor, it is a vital service for the population and highlights the strategic approach the Ukrainian military is taking to undermine the ongoing war.