American Marconi Wireless News - Drone hits Yandex data centre, in first such attack on Russia

Unverified images published on social media showed columns of thick, black smoke pouring from the roof of the building, which the company said was in the central Ryazan region, located southeast of Moscow.

Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, with recent Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian data centres and logistics warehouses.

The head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said Kyiv was responsible for the strike, writing on Telegram: "Two can play at this game".

Yandex is Russia's largest technology company.

Often dubbed "Russia's Google", the firm runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi application used by tens of millions of people across the Russian-speaking world.

"A drone attack caused a fire at the Yandex data centre in Sasovo, affecting part of its infrastructure," a Yandex spokesperson told AFP, without specifying the origin of the drone.

"There are no casualties, and emergency services are on site dealing with the aftermath. The data centre has stopped operating entirely, and some Yandex services may be unavailable to users," the spokesperson added.

Ryazan regional governor Pavel Malkov said on Telegram Thursday that two Ukrainian drones had been shot down over the region overnight, noting that "the roof of a business caught fire" in the Sasovo area.

Sasovo is about 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of Moscow.

Downdetector Russia, a website that monitors internet outages, showed a large spike in user complaints beginning in the early hours of Thursday.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's official Center for Countering Disinformation, posted an image on Telegram purporting to show the attack.

"Two can play at this game. Ukrainian forces struck a Yandex data centre in the Ryazan region," he wrote.

A data centre is a building that houses IT infrastructure, often servers and electronic equipment that ensure the smooth running of internet services.

Moscow began its Ukraine offensive in February 2022.

A.Mahlangu--AMWN