Yandex, Russia’s Google‑like search giant, said two of its five data centres were struck by Ukrainian drones in the last two days, leaving major services offline. The company, which powers a wide array of apps used by millions, set up a working‑group to restore operations.
The most severe impact came to the Sasovo hub in the Ryazan region, where an overnight strike caused “serious damage” and shut the site completely. A second hit hit the Kaluga data centre – Russia’s largest – on the morning of Friday, knocking a portion of its infrastructure out of service.
Yandex warned that these data centres are “critical” to its normal operation and that predicting restoration times is very difficult. Day‑and‑night teams are scrambling to keep the search engine, food‑ordering and taxi apps running, but it remains a complex task.
The strikes have temporarily disabled some AI chatbot functions and affected the reliability of smart‑home devices, according to the company’s statement to the state news agency Tass.
The Kaluga centre covers 130,000 sq m (1,399,000 sq ft) and, in a single year, consumes electricity comparable to 220,000 UK households – a staggering energy footprint for a single site. The Sasovo cluster, home to two of three supercomputers that help Yandex train its AI model, may have been damaged as well, though the outcome is still unknown.
Ukraine’s defence ministry confirmed the attacks and noted that Russia would be forced to divert resources to repair the damaged capacity. President Volodymyr Zelensky characterised the strikes as a “mirror‑like” response to Russian raids on Ukrainian data centres.
Such an exchange underlines the vulnerability of energy‑intensive digital infrastructure in conflict zones. Data centres are significant emitters of greenhouse gases, and their disruption carries both operational and climate costs. This incident therefore illustrates the urgent need for resilient, low‑carbon data ecosystems that can withstand geopolitical shocks.
As the war drags on, the energy and climate stakes of maintaining digital connectivity grow sharper. Protecting data infrastructure is not only about keeping services running but also about safeguarding the planet’s environmental future.
