연합뉴스1 hour agoTech2 min readSouth Korea

Central Asia app halts after Ukrainian drone hits Russian data center

Quick Look

As three Yandex data centers in Russia were shut down due to drone attacks in Ukraine, digital service apps such as taxi calling and food ordering in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan are not functioning properly.
Yandex said there were no injuries, but it is unclear when the equipment will be restored, and the incident is believed to have revealed the high dependence of Central Asia's digital economy on Russia.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Yandex is a major Russian IT company and is called the ‘Russian version of Google.’ Drone attacks against Russian infrastructure continue during the war in Ukraine, and Central Asian countries are highly dependent on Yandex-based digital services.

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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Yoo Chang-yeop = As the Russian information technology (IT) company Yandex's data centers in Russia were attacked by drones in Ukraine, digital service apps in Central Asian countries linked to these centers are not working properly.

According to the Times of Central Asia (TCA) on the 13th, digital service apps such as taxi calling and food ordering in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan are not functioning properly due to the attack on the Yandex data center.

Previously, three data centers of Yandex, the ‘Russian version of Google’, were attacked by Ukrainian drones between the 8th and 11th.

A data center in Sasovo, central Ryazan Oblast, about 180 km southeast of the Russian capital Moscow, was attacked first and completely stopped operating. This center has two supercomputers for artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Subsequently, another data center in the central Kaluga region also lost some equipment due to a drone attack. On the 11th, a data center in the central Vladimir region was also attacked and operations were halted.

Yandex confirmed the damage caused by the drone attack and said there were no injuries.

The company has taken steps to resolve the issue, but it is unknown when the functionality of the damaged equipment will be restored.

Damage from the attack on the Yandex data center quickly spread beyond Russia to Central Asia.

On the 11th, in Kazakhstan, calling taxis and ordering food and ingredients through the Yandex app did not work properly.

Yandex Kazakhstan has identified these technical issues. In the case of the taxi call service, it became available around the evening of the same day, but some functions still did not work.

A similar situation occurred in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. In these countries, there have been a series of reports from Yandex app users that errors occur when calling taxis.

It is not known how much damage was caused by this incident in these Central Asian countries.

This incident is said to have clearly revealed how much the digital economy of Central Asian countries depends on Russia.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

Yandex will continue emergency remediation efforts to restore damaged data center equipment.
Likely · Within weeks
There is a possibility that Central Asian countries will consider diversifying their dependence on Russian digital services.
Possible · Within months

Open Questions

When will damaged equipment be fully restored?
Are there any plans for Central Asian countries to establish alternative digital service infrastructure?
Are these attacks part of Ukraine's long-term strategy to target Russia?

Central Asia app halts after Ukrainian drone hits Russian data center

Quick Look

As three Yandex data centers in Russia were shut down due to drone attacks in Ukraine, digital service apps such as taxi calling and food ordering in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan are not functioning properly.
Yandex said there were no injuries, but it is unclear when the equipment will be restored, and the incident is believed to have revealed the high dependence of Central Asia's digital economy on Russia.