Satellite images show the scale of destruction at Yandex data center after Ukrainian attack

In Russia, after an attack by Ukrainian drones, the data processing center of the company 'Yandex' in the city of Sasovo, Ryazan Oblast, has been seriously damaged. New satellite images show that the fire affected about a third of the building housing the technology company's equipment.

This was reported on October 14 by the Russian independent publication 'Agentstvo. Novosti', which examined Airbus satellite images.

Journalists analyzed images taken on October 12, four days after the strike on the data center. Images of the same facility from October 2025 were used for comparison.

Analysis revealed traces of a serious fire on about a third of the building's area. Satellite photographs show blackened roof sections, structural damage, and objects resembling debris.

However, satellite images do not allow reliable determination of what part of the server equipment was destroyed and how severely the internal infrastructure of the facility was damaged.

The Yandex data center in Sasovo was attacked on the night of October 8. After the strike, a fire broke out at the facility, causing it to shut down. The Russian company confirmed infrastructure damage and said specialists were assessing the consequences.

Yandex then admitted it could not yet confirm the possibility of restoring the damaged equipment. Subsequently, the company reported serious damage and a complete shutdown of the data center.

The attack caused large-scale disruptions in Russian internet services. Problems affected users of the Yandex Cloud platform, certain Yandex services, and websites of third-party organizations using the company's infrastructure.

In particular, interruptions were reported in the operation of the websites of Russian Railways, RIA Novosti, Vedomosti, Interfax and other Russian resources.

After the attack on Sasovo, Ukrainian drones also struck Yandex data centers in Kaluga and Vladimir. The facility in Vladimir completely suspended operations, while in Kaluga part of the infrastructure was knocked out.

According to Russian media reports, restoration of damaged server equipment may take up to six months. The lengthy timelines are explained by the difficulty of replacing computing hardware, including amid existing technology sanctions.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that strikes on Russian data centers are a response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian digital infrastructure.

Exact financial losses of Yandex from the damage to the data center in Sasovo have not yet been disclosed. The company also has not presented a final assessment of the destruction recorded in the new satellite images.

Based on materials from: 'Agentstvo. Novosti', 'Agentstvo', 'Kommersant', Data Center Dynamics.