Home / Technology / Drones Target Yandex: What the Bot Data Really Means
Drones Target Yandex: What the Bot Data Really Means
12 Oct
Summary
- Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted Russian data centers last week.
- Declining bot traffic was linked to Yandex web crawlers, not disinformation.
- Yandex services remain largely offline following recent drone attacks.
Recent Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted Russian data centers, causing a significant decrease in reported bot traffic. Contrary to initial assumptions that this indicated a reduction in disinformation campaigns, experts clarify the data primarily reflects automated Yandex web crawlers. These bots serve a range of functions, including search engine indexing and customer support, and their decline is specific to Yandex traffic, not Russian bot activity overall.
Further analysis has debunked claims of a drop in politically motivated bot activity, particularly concerning Germany's AfD party, with evidence suggesting AI-generated images were shared. Meanwhile, many Yandex-operated systems, including Yandex Pay, remain offline as of October 12th, 2026. The company has stated that while a restoration timeline is uncertain, efforts to bring services back online are ongoing.
