A series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data centers have made international headlines this week amid speculation that Ukraine’s attacks succeeded in temporarily silencing the bot networks driving Moscow’s global disinformation operations. While multiple industry experts have subsequently questioned these claims, there is no doubt that Kyiv’s bombing offensive has demonstrated the vulnerability of Russia’s heavily concentrated digital infrastructure.
In early October, Ukrainian long-range drones struck three of the five main data centers belonging to Yandex, a tech giant that is often referred to as “Russia’s Google.” All three of these mega data centers sustained significant damage. Social media users around the world were soon reporting a sharp decline in bot activity, with many attributing this to Ukraine’s drone strike campaign.
Addressing the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on this trend. “When our strikes reached Yandex data centers, it suddenly became a little easier to breathe on many social media platforms,” the Ukrainian leader commented. “A lot of people noticed it. There was less hate, less division, and fewer provocations because there were fewer bots. And it’s pretty clear where those bots were coming from.”
Not everyone is convinced. While large numbers of social media users reported fewer bots and declining engagement for Kremlin-friendly accounts, others have been more skeptical regarding the impact of Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s online influence activities. “We can’t simply bomb the bots out of existence, however appealing that might sound,” Ned Mendez of Alliance4Europe told Britain’s Guardian newspaper. “They aren’t really a single set of buildings that can be switched off.”
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Opinion remains divided over the impact of Ukraine’s airstrikes on Russia bot activity, but the wider damage caused by the attacks is not in doubt. Over the past week, many of the digital services provided by Yandex and partner companies have been disrupted or forced offline by the Ukrainian bombing campaign.
On October 11, Russian customers of Yandex online banking services were unable to access the app or reach their funds. “I understand that you are waiting not for words but for access to your money,” commented Yandex financial services head Dmitry Pirogov in a social media post that gave no date for a full recovery. A wide range of Yandex apps and tools including taxi services encountered similar difficulties.
The disruption went far beyond Yandex’s own platforms. More than sixty thousand Russian businesses and institutions rely on the company’s online services, including everything from fast food delivery and smart home management to e-commerce and municipal administrations. Many reportedly experienced difficulties in the wake of Ukraine’s drone strikes.
Problems also spread beyond Russia’s borders, with Yandex services becoming unavailable in at least eight countries from Central Asia to Serbia. The company’s representative office in Uzbekistan acknowledged a “serious outage,” while Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development stepped in to help with the recovery of Yandex services. While operations were soon partially restored in most countries, the shutdowns dented Russia’s reputation as a reliable partner and regional tech leader.
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Emergency measures are now underway and some services are returning, but full recovery may take months. Yandex must source replacements for damaged equipment in an international tech marketplace where demand outstrips limited supply. The company’s task will be further complicated by the fact that access to some key components may be restricted by existing sanctions legislation.
Why was Russia so exposed? It seems that the Kremlin’s efforts to extend control over the information space have left the country particularly at risk to attacks of this nature. Since 2015, Russian law has required the personal data of all citizens to be stored inside Russia. This and other legislation aimed at establishing a “sovereign internet” have encouraged the concentration of Russian digital infrastructure in a limited number of mega data centers. These hubs represent high-value targets for Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine’s strikes on Russian data centers offer a number of important lessons for the wider international community. These attacks provide confirmation that digital data centers should be treated as critical infrastructure and subjected to the same physical protections as other strategic sites including power plants and logistics hubs. Meanwhile, data storage backups and dispersal strategies should be routine features of digital policy.
There are already indications that Russia and Iran are learning from each other, with Tehran targeting data hubs in Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. This underlines the threat to digital infrastructure and the need to implement comprehensive security precautions.
The idea of Ukrainian drones silencing Kremlin bots clearly caught the world’s imagination, but the real story behind Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s mega data centers is one of strategic vulnerability. From banking to transport, Kyiv’s strikes are proof that Russia’s highly centralized digital infrastructure has left the country dangerously exposed.
Leonid Baratz is an investigative journalist and Middle East correspondent for Ukrainian national television and radio who also writes for Israel’s BeSheva media group covering diplomacy and security in the region.
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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.
The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.
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Image: A service member of the 414th Separate Unmanned Strike Aviation System Brigade 'Magyar's Birds' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands next to FP-1 deep-strike drones before their launch for a combat mission, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, in 2026. (REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)