Drone strike hits Russian Yandex data centre

Attack causes major outages as UN condemns wave of strikes on Ukrainian civilians Drone strike hits Russian Yandex data centre The attack caused a fire at a data centre belonging to Russian technology giant Yandex in the Ryazan region on Thursday, in what the company described as a major disruption to its infrastructure as Ukraine and Russia intensify long-range strikes. Yandex, Russia's largest technology company, said the attack hit its data centre in Sasovo, about 300 kilometres east of Moscow. No casualties were reported, but the facility had stopped operating entirely and some of the company's services could be unavailable. "The data centre has stopped operating entirely, and some Yandex services may be unavailable to users," a company spokesperson told AFP, adding that emergency services were dealing with the aftermath. Yandex later said it could not confirm whether equipment at the facility could be restored. Images circulating on social media showed thick black smoke rising from the building. Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said two Ukrainian drones had been shot down over the region overnight. Russian media reported major internet disruptions during the day, while Downdetector. Elsewhere, a drone strike on a car in Russia's Belgorod region killed one person, according to the state-run RIA news agency, citing local authorities. AGENCIES In Ukraine, a Russian drone strike on a car in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed two people, local authorities said. The attack followed an earlier strike on two buses that killed 30 people. UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "appalled" by the "horrifying strike" and said at least 85 civilians had reportedly been killed and 346 injured in Russian strikes since Monday.