Yandex data-centre strikes: evidence does not show Russian bot networks were hit
BBC Verify says Cloudflare traffic figures do not establish that Ukrainian strikes on Yandex data centres reduced Kremlin-linked influence operations.
BBC Verify reported on 13 October that it found no evidence Ukrainian strikes on Yandex data centres in Russia had significantly reduced Kremlin-linked influence operations. The strikes have disrupted Yandex services, but the traffic figures cited to support the bot claim do not measure social-media bot activity.
What Cloudflare’s traffic figures measure
Cloudflare told BBC Verify that its figures count automated requests to websites hosted on its network, including web crawlers. A fall in activity using Yandex’s network therefore does not establish a fall in social-media bot activity.
Yandex service disruption after the strikes
BBC Verify reported that Ukraine had struck three of Yandex’s five data centres since 8 October. Reuters reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 13 October that the government was discussing Yandex’s difficulties and that the company was taking urgent steps to address the consequences. He said it was too early to assess financial losses to users.
The earlier NewsJaws report covered the Kremlin’s discussion of Yandex’s service disruption; BBC Verify’s assessment addresses the separate claim about Russian influence operations.
Sources and context
- Is Zelensky right to say data centre strikes have taken down Russian bots?BBC Verify
- Kremlin says the government is discussing Yandex's problems after Ukrainian strikes on its data centresChannel NewsAsia / Reuters
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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