Who are the Ukrainian 'volunteers' under Russian command?

Russian tech behemoth Yandex has halted all operations at a major data center in the Vladimir region following a recent drone attack, marking the third such assault on the company's server infrastructure within a four-day period. The strike inflicted significant damage, leading to operational shutdowns and widespread service disruptions, according to a statement released by Yandex on the Telegram platform.

The Vladimir hub is home to one of Yandex's three supercomputers, a critical asset utilized for training neural networks, powering artificial intelligence, and facilitating cloud computing services.

The incident underscores a concerning trend in warfare, where critical digital infrastructure is increasingly becoming a target. Alongside strikes on energy facilities, oil refineries, and e-commerce supply chains, the attacks on Yandex's data center illustrate the evolving nature of modern conflict. The company, colloquially known as Russia's Google, offers a range of services including internet search, cloud computing, artificial intelligence models, and logistics across Eurasia.

A night-time strike on October 7-8 ignited a fire and caused substantial damage to the facility, necessitating a complete shutdown. Yandex is currently uncertain whether the equipment at Sasovo, which houses its first two supercomputers, can be repaired. Another attack on October 9 further exacerbated the situation by damaging multiple hardware modules, resulting in the incapacitation of several cloud computing components.

These repeated disruptions have had a far-reaching impact on Yandex's diverse portfolio of consumer and enterprise services, including web search, ride-hailing, e-commerce, food delivery, and Yandex Cloud platforms. The repercussions of these attacks have also extended into neighboring Kazakhstan.

Ukrainian military observers have pointed out that such targeted strikes on server hubs are aimed at weakening digital command-and-control capabilities, disrupting state logistics, and impeding corporate communications that support Russia's military operations. The Yandex attacks follow a series of similar assaults against Ukrainian telecommunications and digital hubs in Kyiv and other cities, including those operated by Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, and Omega Telecom.

Furthermore, Kremlin forces have extended their cyber-offensive to Ukrainian distribution centers belonging to leading private delivery service Nova Poshta and major e-commerce platform Rozetka. Following the onset of the war in 2022, Yandex's American depositary receipts were suspended on the Nasdaq exchange and subsequently delisted. Meanwhile, its former Dutch parent company divested its Russian assets in 2024, rebranding as Nebius Group, an AI infrastructure firm focusing on European and U.S. markets.