Russia’s Digital Development Ministry helped Yandex secure additional sites for key systems after attacks on its data centres, minister Maksut Shadayev said on 14 October, TASS reported. The government’s help comes after strikes hit three of Yandex’s six data centres and forced two to close completely, Recorded Future News reported.
Key points
- Shadayev said Yandex moved key systems to backup facilities prepared before the attacks.
- Yandex is still restoring operations and moving remaining systems to third-party sites, the minister said.
- Drone strikes hit Yandex facilities in the Ryazan, Kaluga and Vladimir regions between 8 and 11 October.
- Customers also reported trouble using Yandex Go in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Shadayev details the backup move
Shadayev told RBC that Yandex promptly shifted the operation of key systems to backup facilities it had prepared in advance. He said Yandex was also working to restore operations while moving its other systems onto external providers’ sites.
The ministry’s assistance in finding additional locations is a further step beyond the protective measures Shadayev discussed on 12 October. At the time, he said his ministry was working with Russia’s Defence Ministry on protecting data centres from drones, The Moscow Times reported.
Yandex’s press service told RBC that it had built geographically distributed infrastructure and backup capacity at independent sites over several years, TASS reported. Shadayev said distributing infrastructure across locations reduces dependence on any single large facility and helps keep services available when one is badly damaged.
Strikes hit three Yandex data centres
The strikes began overnight on 7–8 October at a data centre in Sasovo, in the Ryazan region. Drones hit a Kaluga facility on 9 October and a site in the Vladimir region overnight on 11 October, Meduza reported.
Yandex said the Vladimir facility had shut down completely and that its remaining infrastructure was unstable. The three targeted centres have a combined capacity of approximately 115 megawatts.
The disruption reached businesses using Yandex Cloud as well as the company’s own services. Yandex Cloud served approximately 64,000 customers as of mid-2026, according to company financial disclosures described by Recorded Future News.
Yandex advises customers to arrange backup capacity
Yandex advised customers to arrange backup capacity with Selectel, K2Cloud and VK Cloud, Meduza reported. The advice concerns customers whose own services depend on Yandex infrastructure, alongside the company’s work to relocate its remaining systems.
The effects extended beyond Russia. On 11 October, customers in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan reported problems booking rides, ordering food and accessing accounts through Yandex Go, The Diplomat reported.
Yandex’s press offices in all three countries acknowledged technical problems to local media and said teams were working to restore service. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development said Kazakh users’ personal data was stored on servers in Kazakhstan.
