Ukrainian airstrikes on Yandex data centers have caused service outages in Russia, though experts dispute claims that the attacks significantly reduced Russian disinformation campaigns.

Ukraine conducted at least three airstrikes over the weekend against data centers owned by the Russian search engine company Yandex. The attacks caused significant damage to at least two facilities, leading to outages for various Russian websites, including banks, retailers, and Yandex services. While President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested the strikes hindered Russian disinformation efforts, experts and analysts have questioned the direct impact on social media bot activity.

Impact on Russian Services

The strikes resulted in widespread service disruptions across Russia. According to the independent outlet Meduza, major banking platforms, retail websites, and sports applications were taken offline. Yandex-specific services, including Yandex Go and Yandex Eats, also experienced outages. Reports indicate that the damage to the infrastructure is substantial and may require months of repair work.

Disinformation Claims and Expert Analysis

Following the strikes, social media users claimed a decrease in pro-Russian and far-right content, attributing the change to the destruction of bot-hosting infrastructure. However, Amil Khan, CEO of the disinformation-tracking startup Valent, stated that his team observed no discernible change in posting patterns across global social networks. Internet infrastructure expert Michał Woźniak noted that the term 'bot' is broad, and Cloudflare data showing a decline in traffic from Yandex-associated bots does not necessarily equate to a reduction in disinformation narratives.