Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data centers disrupt digital services and AI plans

Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked out key Russian data centers, disrupting digital services and setting back the country's AI ambitions. The attacks hit facilities owned by Yandex, Sberbank, and VKontakte, causing widespread outages across banking, e-commerce, and cloud services. The strikes occurred in October 2026, targeting three Yandex data centers, one Sberbank hub, and one VKontakte facility. Damage is expected to take months or years to repair, with experts warning Russia's AI development could be significantly delayed due to destroyed high-end chips and computing infrastructure. Russia's digital sovereignty policy, requiring all data storage domestically, made the country vulnerable to such attacks. The strikes may push Russian companies to move data abroad, potentially easing internet controls and reshaping the country's digital landscape.