'Yandex' may take six months to restore equipment after Ukrainian attacks - Russian media
Russian company 'Yandex' has faced large-scale disruptions after attacks by Ukrainian drones on three data centers. The problems affected dozens of online services, and drivers of 'Yandex Taxi' were recommended to use Google Maps. At the same time, the delivery of equipment to replace damaged ones may take up to six months.
Russian outlets 'Kommersant', Astra and 'Verstka' report on the consequences of the attacks.
During October 8-11, drones attacked Yandex data centers in Ryazan, Kaluga and Vladimir regions of Russia. The facilities in Sasovo and Vladimir completely stopped operating, and the data center in Kaluga suffered damage and continues to work only partially.
According to Kommersant data, the attacks caused disruptions in about ten of the company's main services, including 'Yandex Go', mail and other online platforms. Problems also arose at third-party companies renting Yandex computing capacity.
One of the most noticeable consequences was disruptions in 'Yandex Taxi'. As Verstka reports citing two drivers from Moscow and Yekaterinburg, the company recommended taxi drivers to install Google Maps or Waze instead of its own navigation.
The corresponding message appeared in the driver app 'Yandex Pro'. It warns that built-in navigation may temporarily not work, so they suggest using alternative services to fulfill orders. Drivers were also advised to download offline maps of their cities.
Taxi drivers complain not only about navigation, but also about delays in updating trip statuses, unavailability of order history and the appearance of so-called phantom calls. In addition, according to drivers, some bonus programs stopped working, affecting their earnings.
Restoring damaged infrastructure may be complicated by a shortage of server equipment. A Kommersant source in the Russian IT market estimates the supply time for required hardware at up to six months. However, this does not mean that all services will remain unavailable during this time.
The situation is especially difficult with computing accelerators for artificial intelligence. Representatives of electronics manufacturer Fplus consider it practically unrealistic to purchase large batches of equipment with delivery by the end of 2026.
Market participants warn that the need to urgently replace damaged servers may cause a short-term increase in the cost of equipment and cloud services. Additional expenses of data center operators on protection from drones may also affect tariffs for clients.
To support client services, Yandex Cloud has agreed with Selectel, K2Cloud and VK Cloud on accelerated provision of reserve capacity. The company states that they are gradually restoring availability of their platforms.
Meanwhile, on October 12, head of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev called attacks on Yandex infrastructure unprecedented. According to him, the ministry together with the Russian Ministry of Defense is working on measures to protect data centers from further attacks.