Ukraine takes aim at Russia’s AI data infrastructure

Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of drone strikes that have partially disabled two key data centres operated by Russian digital giant Yandex, a core component of Moscow’s artificial‑intelligence development programme. On Friday a drone attack hit Yandex’s facility in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, rendering part of the centre inoperable. The strike followed a similar assault the previous day on Yandex’s hub in Sasovo, Ryazan region, where two of the three supercomputers used to train the company’s AI models are located. Yandex, which runs a suite of widely used Russian apps and social‑media platforms, said its teams were working around the clock to keep services running despite the damage.

The attacks appear to signal a widening of Ukraine’s campaign to target Russia’s technology infrastructure in retaliation for Moscow’s recent strikes on Ukrainian data centres and telecommunications facilities. Over the past month Russia has hit several Ukrainian sites, causing temporary internet outages for roughly 100,000 households and forcing some services to suspend operations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy framed the Yandex strikes as a “mirror‑like” response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian data hubs, emphasizing a strategic effort to undermine the digital backbone that supports Russia’s war economy and its AI capabilities.

In parallel with the cyber‑infrastructure attacks, Ukraine’s military reported hits on three Russian missile‑production sites, including a Tver‑region factory making missile components and a Nizhny Novgorod centre that disassembles intercontinental ballistic missiles, aiming to curb the flow of explosives and rocket fuel to Russian forces. The Nizhny Novgorod strike killed one Russian serviceman, while a drone‑induced fire at a Tver plant was quickly extinguished. Ukraine also claimed responsibility for a drone strike on Lukoil’s Ukhta oil refinery, 1,900 km from the front line. Meanwhile, Russian air raids continued to target Ukrainian civilians, killing one and injuring seven in Zaporizhzhia, and striking a cargo vessel in Mykolaiv that Moscow alleges was supplying the Ukrainian military.

⚡ Effects Interpreter