Cybersecurity specialist Kostiantyn Korsun, speaking on Ukrainian Radio, put forward the view that data centres operating within Ukraine function along broadly the same lines as those found in Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, and comparable locations worldwide.

Korsun noted that the concentrated nature of internet infrastructure and data-centre networks within Russia shapes how the effects of strikes play out, adding that Yandex runs facilities of an outsized scale. The analyst noted that the company provides a wide array of services spanning dozens to hundreds of distinct offerings and has come to hold a dominant position across that sector within Russia.

Korsun attributed the divergence in outcomes to a structural difference: one country's infrastructure operates through a dispersed, decentralised network, while the other's runs through a tightly consolidated, single-point system.

The disruption left the broader user base largely unaffected, though a portion of resource owners who had not maintained backups did experience data loss. Korsun noted that across Russia, users had been voicing dissatisfaction with a range of services — from ride-hailing apps and smart-home systems to payment terminals at cafés and connected hubs — reporting that various platforms were not functioning as expected.

Authorities and security agencies in Russia maintain close oversight of online traffic, with equipment placed at internet service providers designed to capture and log data passing through their networks.

Korsun indicated that, should Ukrainian strikes maintain their present rate, breadth, and impact, Russian business operations face a risk of breakdown, with providers already working to safeguard the most widely used platforms by relocating them to alternative data-centre infrastructure. No swift resolution is expected from a process of this nature, he added.

Korsun noted that demand is pushing buyers toward any available server hardware they can find, with supply falling short on a worldwide basis.

Ripple effects across the broader economy were among the concerns Korsun raised, pointing out that disruptions to ride services such as taxis would leave workers without reliable transport to their jobs, strip drivers of their earnings, and pull down both commercial activity and government tax intake.

Yandex's role as a technology infrastructure supplier to corporate clients — the banking sector among them — was also raised, with Korsun observing that financial institutions require dedicated environments in which to operate their processing systems. Without the underlying systems needed to handle transactions, the ability to process card payments would be unavailable.

Korsun described the developments as ones that would register as a significant jolt even by the standards of an already volatile situation. In his assessment, a failure of internet infrastructure had the potential to prompt depositors to withdraw funds en masse and shift holdings into physical currency, placing the banking system under strain that could prove destabilising.

Korsun noted that data centres could emerge as an alternative target should an "energy truce" place limits on strikes against oil refineries and power infrastructure, adding that Russia holds roughly four to five times as many such facilities as Ukraine does. One side fields roughly 50 to 60, while the other deploys a force closer to 230 to 240.

He went on to note that distribution centres or digital infrastructure could serve as alternative targets if petroleum processing plants and energy networks were placed off limits. According to Korsun, the facility described as Russia's final large-scale data centre sits in Mytishchi, north of Moscow, and a strike against it would have the potential to knock out services for a period spanning several months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that strikes targeting Yandex data centres had brought down bot activity across social media platforms, framing the operations as a direct response to Russian infrastructure attacks on equivalent facilities inside Ukraine.