Ukraine strikes Yandex data centers in Russia, sparking widespread outages
Ukraine has hit Yandex data centers in Russia, causing major headaches for people trying to use banks, order taxis, or even unlock their smart home devices.
These strikes are part of Ukraine's new approach to target Russia's digital infrastructure during the ongoing conflict.
Since October 8, 2026, Russians have found it tough to access everyday services because so much runs through Yandex.
Russian outages disrupt payments, taxis, locks
The outages have made life pretty stressful for many: Irina from St. Petersburg could not pay her rent on time, and Moscow taxi drivers were left waiting for their earnings as apps glitched out.
Even smart locks stopped working in some homes.
Yandex says it is working hard to fix things and has confirmed no staff were hurt in the attacks.
While Dmitry Peskov called Yandex "strong and powerful" and is not rushing to offer financial help, Ukraine's president, Zelensky, said these strikes are payback for similar attacks on Ukraine's own digital systems, signaling a new tech-focused phase in the conflict.