Nearly 3% of Cloud Customer Data Permanently Lost After Drone Strikes, Yandex Says

Nov. 10, 2026 The Yandex main office in Moscow. REUTERS / Anastasia Barashkova Yandex said Tuesday that it restored access to around 97% of cloud customer data affected by last month’s Ukrainian drone strikes on its data centers, though the remaining 3% has been permanently lost. In a press release, the tech company attributed the data loss to “critical damage to equipment” and a failure by some cloud customers to maintain external backups on the platform. Ukrainian drones attacked multiple Yandex data centers between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11, leading to disruptions in ride-hailing apps, car-sharing services, food delivery and online maps, as well as email, banking and streaming platforms. Government agencies and private firms whose products use Yandex infrastructure were also impacted. Yandex later said it had restored “key features” for users and businesses, but its engineers were still working to bring all of its services back online. In its latest press release, the company said cloud customers who had enabled automated backup features experienced zero data loss. To guard against future disruptions, Yandex has updated its platform to enable automatic data backups by default for all new virtual cloud servers. Engineers are also working to redistribute computing workloads across a broader, more decentralized network of data facilities throughout Russia to reduce reliance on single locations, the company added. Yandex previously confirmed that its specialized supercomputers located at two of the targeted facilities survived the attacks unharmed and have since been transferred to secure alternative sites. Read more about: Yandex Sign up for our free weekly newsletter Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy We sent a confirmation to your email. Please confirm your subscription. A Message from The Moscow Times: Dear readers, We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia. We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help. Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact. By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us. Once Monthly Annual Continue Not ready to support today? Remind me later. × Remind me next month Remind me Thank you! Your reminder is set. We will send you one reminder email a month from now. For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy. Read more Yandex NV Strikes $5.2Bln Deal With Russian Investors The buyer, an investment fund called Consortium.First, includes Russian companies and investment funds that are not under Western sanctions. 2 Min read Tech Giant Yandex Gets New Russian Owner Ahead of Restructuring MKAO Yandex was registered last month in a Kaliningrad region offshore zone. 2 Min read Netherlands Probes Yandex Taxi App Over Fears of FSB Data Sharing – Bloomberg Yango said it was in talks with the Dutch Data Protection Agency to show its adherence to Europe’s data protection rules. 1 Min read Nasdaq to Delist Russia’s Yandex, Other Tech Firms Nasdaq said it has notified Yandex, Ozon, QIWI, HeadHunter and Cian of plans to delist their securities on March 24. 1 Min read