Bot traffic drops as Ukraine drone strikes hit Russian data centers, crippling Yandex and cutting automated activity across social platforms.
Ukrainian drones struck Yandex’s biggest sites in Sasovo, Kaluga, and Vladimir. The attacks knocked out major data centers, with Yandex Cloud confirming 84 services offline.
NetBlocks reported traffic fell to 30% for Yandex Cloud and 63% for Yandex LLC. Cloudflare data showed bot traffic from Yandex dropped to just 0.4% of its peak in the past two weeks.
Cloudflare Radar confirmed automated traffic from Yandex fell by 94% compared to late September averages. Yandex later announced its Vladimir center was completely suspended.
Analysts believe the disruption weakened Kremlin-linked influence operations. Reports from Europe noted declines in online activity around far-right parties. In the United States, users saw fewer automated pro-conservative responses on X, raising concerns about foreign interference ahead of elections.
The strikes were seen as payback for Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian data centers, which had disrupted popular sites in Kyiv.
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For users, the direct impact is less bot-driven content online. Social feeds may feel more natural, though the long-term effects on Russia’s digital operations remain unclear.
