Ukraine takes aim at Russia’s AI data infrastructure

Drone attacks target Russian digital giant Yandex, as well as continuing strikes on missile plants and oil refineries, following a wave of Russian attacks on data hubs inside Ukraine.

Ukrainian drone strikes have partly disabled an AI data centre operated by Russian digital giant Yandex.

The strike on Friday followed an attack on another of the company’s data hubs the previous day, appearing to signal that Ukraine’s military campaign is widening its scope to target Russia’s technology infrastructure. Moscow has previously targeted data hubs inside Ukraine.

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Yandex, which is heavily involved in Russia’s AI development efforts, said its data centre in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow had been struck by Ukrainian drones and partly put out of action.

A day earlier, a Ukrainian attack shut down a major data hub in Sasovo in the Ryazan region, where two of the three supercomputers used to develop the company’s AI models are housed.

Yandex, which operates under close government observation, said the attacks had struck at the core of its operations and that it was trying to maintain its services.

“Our teams are working day and night to keep services running and help those affected by the incident. Right now this is our most important task, but unfortunately it is not an easy one,” it said in a statement.

The company operates numerous apps that many Russians consider essential, as well as social media networks.

Russia has struck several Ukrainian data centres and telecommunications infrastructure facilities over the past month, including targets in central Kyiv.

Damage from the attacks has forced some services to suspend operations. Roughly 100,000 households suffered temporary internet outages after an attack.