Trump pledges to address any continuing Starlink access problems in Ukraine
Ukrainian officials said speed limits remained in effect, disputing the U.S. president’s earlier assertion that service had been fully restored.
Drone strikes disrupt Russian data centers used by major tech companies
Five facilities were hit in October. The companies have not detailed the damage, while an expert warned of further delays to Russian AI development.
Five data centers operated by Yandex, Sber and VKontakte were hit by Ukrainian drones in October, triggering service failures across Russia. The disruptions affected payments, navigation and cloud computing, with users reporting continuing trouble accessing storage, booking taxis and paying for purchases.
The attacks struck Yandex locations in Sasovo, Ryazan region, on October 7; Kaluga on October 9; and Vladimir on October 11. Sber’s facility in Balakovo, Saratov region, was hit on October 14, followed by VKontakte’s center near St. Petersburg in the Leningrad region on October 18.
The three companies have not said how much damage their facilities sustained. Mikhail Klimarev, who heads the Internet Protection Society, said experts expected repairs to take months or years.
Yandex develops AI models using three supercomputers, the most powerful of which is housed in Sasovo. Connor Martin of the Council on Foreign Relations said the drone strikes would probably push Russian AI development further behind. Separately, Western sanctions and a worldwide chip shortage complicate hardware restoration: the machines use Nvidia A100 processors, which Russia is barred from importing legally.
Analysts said Russia’s domestic data-storage requirements concentrate computing infrastructure within its borders, making it easier to target. Ukraine has moved most of its data onto servers elsewhere in Europe, limiting disruption from later attacks.
Russian strikes have also damaged Ukraine’s computing infrastructure. An October 19 attack destroyed a large Datagroup center in Kyiv, leaving it beyond repair. Kyiv’s GigaCenter was damaged on October 20, and several other Ukrainian facilities were struck in September and October.