# Ukrainian Strikes Shut Two Yandex Data Centers and Hit Part of a Third

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/38669
Published: 2026-10-23T04:11:16.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-23T04:11:16.000Z
Section: Technology

> The sites housed Yandex’s three operating AI supercomputers; damage to that equipment has not been disclosed.

Ukrainian drone strikes disabled two Yandex data centers and part of a third in October, including sites that housed its AI supercomputers, as strikes also hit Sberbank and VK facilities.

Yandex’s Sasovo center in the Ryazan region was seriously damaged overnight Oct. 7-8 and shut down. Part of its Kaluga center went out of service the next morning. By Oct. 11, its Vladimir site had also stopped operating after an overnight attack. No employees were injured, and a restoration date for damaged equipment has not been set.

The three facilities housed Yandex’s three operating supercomputers used to develop AI models. No damage to those machines has been disclosed.

A Sberbank data center in Balakovo, Saratov region, was attacked Oct. 14. First Deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin said, “All of Sberbank’s systems and services are operating normally and without disruption.” The bank has not detailed physical damage at the site.

VK’s data center in the Leningrad region was targeted Oct. 18. VK services remained available, while users reported feed and music problems around the same time. Monitoring did not establish a link between those complaints and the strike.

Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Internet Protection Society, said the attacks put Russia “far behind in the AI race.” Connor Martin, an international affairs fellow in national security at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote that they would have “minimal effect on the global race to develop and adopt artificial intelligence,” even if they set back Russia’s own efforts.