Ukrainian Drones Struck Yandex's AI Data Centers Two Days in a Row

Second Strike Hits Kaluga Center

On Friday, October 9, 2026, Ukraine struck a large data center belonging to the Russian tech company Yandex, partially disabling it. According to Reuters, it was the second attack in two consecutive days, showing that Ukrainian drones are widening the range of their targets inside Russia.

Yandex itself confirmed that its center in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, was hit by Ukrainian drones and partially disabled. The Kaluga center is the company's largest data center — a fact also emphasized in a statement by the Ukrainian weapons manufacturer Fire Point.

The sequence of strikes is notable: the first center was hit on October 8, the second — larger — one on October 9. Two separate facilities hit within two days point to a widening geography of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Fire Point disclosed the attack's details. The company said Kyiv struck the facility that Yandex itself calls its "largest data center" with FP-1 one-way attack drones. According to Fire Point, several modules of the center were completely disabled.

"Kyiv struck the facility that Yandex itself calls its largest data center with FP-1 one-way attack drones; several modules of the center were completely disabled," said Fire Point, the Ukrainian weapons manufacturer.

The FP-1 is a drone designed for one-way attacks. The Fire Point statement refers to the October 9 strike on Kaluga and says these drones were used in it.

Yandex confirmed the damage at the Kaluga center itself. According to the company's statement, the center was hit by Ukrainian drones and partially disabled. "Partially disabled" means part of the center continues to operate — consistent with Fire Point's statement that "several modules were completely disabled."

Sasovo: the Center Hosting the Supercomputers

A day before the October 9 Kaluga strike, Ukraine shut down the Yandex data center in the city of Sasovo, southeast of Moscow. According to Reuters, this center hosts two of the three supercomputers the company uses to develop AI models.

The full shutdown of the Sasovo center means one of the most critical parts of Yandex's AI development infrastructure was directly targeted. The fact that two of the three supercomputers were concentrated in a single center shows how important this facility is to the company's research.

The first attack happened on October 8 and shut the center down completely. Reuters described the attack as a "shut down" — the halt of the center's operations. A day later, on October 9, the second strike hit the larger center in Kaluga.

Two consecutive attacks thus covered two separate centers of Yandex's AI infrastructure. The first strike fully shut down the Sasovo center; the second partially disabled the Kaluga center.

The geographic placement of the two centers is also noteworthy: Sasovo lies southeast of Moscow, while Kaluga lies southwest. The two attacks targeted two separate facilities on opposite sides of the capital.

Yandex's Response: Harder to Keep Services Running

Yandex confirmed both drone attacks. The company said it faces a difficult situation in maintaining the services used daily by millions of Russians.

"Yandex confirmed the drone attacks and said it faces a difficult situation in maintaining the services used daily by millions of Russians," the company's statement said.

Yandex is an active participant in Russia's AI development efforts. The company is sometimes called "Russia's Google" — a reflection of its central role in Russia's digital ecosystem.

The strikes threatened not only the company's internal computing capacity but also the services it provides to customers and businesses. Yandex's difficulties in maintaining its services are explained by two of its infrastructure centers being hit at the same time.

The company continues to assess the full extent of the damage. So far, only the attacks themselves and the preliminary description of their consequences — the partial disabling of the Kaluga center and the full shutdown of the Sasovo center — have been officially confirmed.

Yandex's AI work holds a special place in Russia. The company relies on three supercomputers to develop AI models — two of them were located in the now-shut-down Sasovo center.

Ars Technica: "First Major Attacks"

Ars Technica reported that Ukrainian drones knocked out an AI data center belonging to "Russia's Google." The publication described the strikes as the first major attacks on data centers in Russia.

This description indicates the scale of the attacks differs from previous incidents. Within two days, Yandex's two most important AI infrastructure centers were hit in sequence — one fully shut down, the other partially disabled.

The details of the event are based on October 9 reports by Reuters and Ars Technica. Both publications covered the sequence of attacks, the significance of the targeted centers, and Yandex's own statement in complementary fashion.

The sequence of the attacks and the importance of the targeted facilities made this event one of the most notable technology stories of recent days. Yandex has not yet provided additional information about the extent of the damage or recovery work.