Ukraine reportedly hits Russian bot farms
The gist
Ukrainian drones struck Yandex data centers in Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir, damaging servers.
Whether this cut Russian bot activity is disputed by an expert.
How it unfolded
- Oct 8, 2026Ukraine reportedly struck a Yandex data center in Sasovo, Ryazan region, causing a massive internet outage in Russia; it was unclear whether the data center, the Sasta plant, or both were intended targets.
- Oct 9, 2026Ukraine struck Yandex data centers in Sasovo and the Kaluga region, causing internet outages; the Kaluga facility, with 63 megawatts of capacity, is Yandex's largest in Russia.
- Oct 12, 2026After Yandex reported drone strikes damaged its servers in Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had seen "less hate, less division, and fewer provocations because there were fewer bots" online.