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Russians locked out of bank accounts as Ukraine hits Yandex data centers
NBC News • • world
Key Points:
- Ukrainian strikes on Yandex data centers caused widespread disruptions in Russia, affecting millions' access to money, taxis, food delivery, and digital services integrated into daily life.
- Several users reported being locked out of their funds for days, highlighting the heavy reliance on Yandex Pay and prompting some to consider diversifying their financial resources.
- Taxi drivers dependent on Yandex’s app faced difficulties seeing earnings and withdrawing money, with some halting work until issues were resolved.
- Analysts view the attacks as part of Ukraine’s strategy to make Russians feel the war's impact directly and to disrupt Russia’s digital infrastructure, which also has military significance.
- Russian officials acknowledged the attacks and are looking into protecting data centers, but government financial support for affected users remains uncertain, while Russia continues reciprocal cyberattacks on Ukraine.
