Ukraine hits Yandex data centre for third time this week
Ukraine has conducted its third attack on Russian tech giant Yandex's data centres this week, striking a facility in Vladimir on Sunday. The strike came hours after US President Donald Trump warned Ukraine to cease attacking Russian oil refineries, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to insist that any de-escalation must be reciprocal, with Russia also halting its own attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Yandex, which provides services to tens of millions of users including food delivery and taxi apps, has been forced to suspend operations at multiple data centres after two earlier strikes on Thursday and Friday. Both Russia and Ukraine are targeting each other's infrastructure as part of their broader conflict strategy, with Ukraine's military command stating it is attacking facilities that fund Russia's war machine. Russian strikes on Ukraine continued throughout the weekend, with at least 20 people killed in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday and six injured in overnight attacks on Dnipropetrovsk on Sunday.
- Ukraine strikes Yandex data centre for third time this week despite Trump's warning
- Zelensky insists de-escalation must be reciprocal with Russia also stopping attacks
- Tens of millions lose access to Yandex services as wider infrastructure war continues
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Ukraine and Russia have been locked in armed conflict since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Both nations have increasingly targeted each other's critical infrastructure, particularly energy systems and technology services, as part of their military strategies.
Yandex is Russia's largest tech company, providing essential services to millions of people including internet search, email, food delivery and taxi apps. The company operates multiple data centres across Russia to keep these services running for Russian consumers and businesses.
As the conflict has developed, both Ukraine and Russia have expanded attacks beyond traditional military targets. Ukraine's military argues that striking facilities supporting Russia's economy helps disrupt funding for the war effort, whilst Russia has carried out extensive attacks on Ukraine's power grid and energy infrastructure, affecting millions of Ukrainian civilians.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Ukraine's strikes on Yandex infrastructure are justified as legitimate economic warfare against assets that fund Russia's military machine. Yandex generates substantial revenue through commercial services that indirectly support the Russian state and war effort. Given that Russia continues intensive strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukraine has the right to pursue reciprocal targeting of Russian civilian-supporting infrastructure. Degrading Russia's economic capacity is a recognised and lawful component of modern conflict, particularly when defending against existential threat.
The case against
Yandex primarily provides civilian commercial services—food delivery, taxi apps, search—used by ordinary Russians uninvolved in military decisions. Attacking data centres causes widespread disruption to civilian life and violates the principle of proportionality in international humanitarian law, which restricts targeting of primarily civilian infrastructure. Russia's condemnable attacks on Ukrainian energy do not justify inflicting equivalent civilian harm; proportionate response means targeting military-industrial capacity, not civilian-serving infrastructure. Escalating attacks on each side's civilian systems risks deepening humanitarian suffering without advancing genuine military objectives.
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Originally published by BBC World as “Ukraine strikes Russian data centre again despite Trump warning”.