From Banking to Taxis, Ukraine’s Data Center Strikes Disrupt Everyday Life in Russia

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1. 1h ago

   Ukraine's Data Center Strikes Disrupt Everyday Life in Russia

   Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian data centers have disrupted key services, including banking, e-commerce, geolocation, and ride-hailing. The strikes have affected major tech companies such as Yandex, Sberbank, and VKontakte, leading to widespread interruptions in cloud services. Russians have reported being locked out of bank accounts and apartments, and have faced difficulties with online services.

   Why it matters

   The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has expanded into the digital realm, with data centers becoming a new front line. Russia has been proud of its digital advances, including e-commerce and artificial intelligence, but the strikes have exposed vulnerabilities in its infrastructure. The disruptions have had a significant impact on everyday life in Russia.

   What is confirmed

   • Ukraine's drone strikes have disrupted banking, taxi services, food deliveries, and digital access to homes in Russia.
   • The strikes have affected major tech companies such as Yandex, Sberbank, and VKontakte.
   • Widespread interruptions to cloud services have been reported, including disruptions to banking, e-commerce, geolocation, and ride-hailing services.
   • Russians have reported being locked out of bank accounts and apartments, and have faced difficulties with online services.

   Still unconfirmed

   • Ukraine's data center strikes have taken down Russian disinformation bots.

   What to watch next

   • Further developments on the impact of the strikes on Russia's digital infrastructure
   • Russia's response to the strikes and potential countermeasures
   • The long-term effects of the disruptions on everyday life in Russia
   Sources used for this update (20)

   1. BBC — Is Zelensky right to say data centre strikes have taken down Russian bots?
   2. Mother Jones — Drone Strikes Didn’t Take out a Russian Bot Farm, But We Were Primed to Believe It
   3. The New York Times — To Inflict Economic Pain, Russia and Ukraine Strike at Data Centers
   4. CNN — Ukraine targets Russia’s ‘Google’ as the internet becomes a new front line
   5. BBC — More or Less | Did Ukrainian strikes on Russian data centres stop disinformation bots?
   6. The Conversation — Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian data centres may change how we see disinformation
   7. Mashable — Did Ukraine's data center strikes affect Russia's bot army? We now have better evidence.
   8. NBC News — Russians locked out of bank accounts and apartments as Ukraine hits data centers
   9. NDTV — Ukraine Strike On 'Russian Google' Leaves Millions With No Access To Money
   10. The Moscow Times — From Banking to Taxis, Ukraine’s Data Center Strikes Disrupt Everyday Life in Russia
   11. www.upi.com — Ukrainian strikes on Russia data centers disrupt daily life - UPI.com
   12. The Times of India — Russia’s digital Achilles’ heel? How Ukraine data centre strikes are disrupting daily life
   confidence 85%