In Vladimir, Drones Launched Another Attack On The Yandex Data Center

The flashes were visible in the sky and on the ground.

On the night of October 16, about a dozen explosions were heard in Vladimir, in the Russian Federation, according to online videos. Loud noises were heard in the air and on the ground following possible strikes on the Yandex data center, and Russians began complaining about service disruptions, according to "Focus". How did the nighttime drone strike on a strategic Russian facility—located 600 km from Ukraine and 100 km from the western outskirts of Moscow—happen?

The first reports of explosions in Vladimir appeared online around 1 a.m. on October 16, according to the Supernova+ Telegram channel. Local residents posted a series of videos capturing flashes, the hum of drone engines, and the sound of a larger projectile—resembling a missile—in flight. According to the administrators of the OSINT public group, this may be another strike on the Yandex data center.

In a video from Vladimir, Russians shared their impressions of the drone attack on October 16. One local resident, watching the explosions and flashes of fire, said, “It’s some kind of nightmare.” Another, after hearing the rumble of the weapon and another explosion, remarked that a hit might have occurred, but did not specify the target that might have been struck.

Yandex Data Centers—a facility on the eastern outskirts of Vladimir, located in the “Energetik” district. On Google Maps, the facility has approximate coordinates of 56.10157, 40.19054. At these coordinates is a group of four buildings designated as a data center; each has an area of about 6,000 square meters. Nearby, 1.6 km to the east, is the “Vladimir 750/500/220/110 kV” substation, and 4 km to the east is a “Pantsir” air defense system, according to online reports.

The governor of the Vladimir Region Alexander Avdeev confirmed a drone attack on the region. At 8:00 a.m. on October 16, the official wrote that UAVs allegedly attacked a “thermal infrastructure facility,” but air defense systems shot down all aerial targets. According to Avdeev, there was “minor damage,” but no destruction. He also added that the drone attack is ongoing.

Meanwhile, a service that monitors the performance of internet services in Russia showed that Yandex services experienced an outage rate of about 10% on the night of October 16. Users posted a number of complaints about the services, including a non-functioning website, issues with “Yandex Traffic” and “Yandex Transport,” “Yandex Commuter Trains,” a search engine that wasn’t working, and problems loading search results, as well as “Yandex Maps” not opening.

It should be noted that on October 11, the Yandex data center in Vladimir had already been attacked by Ukrainian drones. The service suspended operations following the attack, and the company announced a complete shutdown of the data center, while users reported that 80 services were down. Governor Avdeev confirmed a fire at the facility and the shutdown of two power substations. Additionally, on October 7–8, similar attacks on Yandex data centers occurred in Kaluga and in Sasovo near Moscow.

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