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Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian data centres may change how we see disinformation
The Conversation • • world
Key Points:
- Ukrainian drone strikes have targeted major Russian data centres, including those owned by Sberbank and Yandex, causing significant service disruptions and a 94% drop in Yandex’s traffic.
- While Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed these attacks reduced Russian disinformation and bot activity online, subsequent reports have questioned the extent of this impact.
- Data centres are emerging as strategic military targets due to their critical role in both civilian services and military operations, with Russia’s digital sovereignty policies limiting its ability to rely on international backup infrastructure.
- Russia’s pursuit of digital sovereignty has led to internet isolation and censorship, creating vulnerabilities by concentrating digital operations in fewer physical sites that are susceptible to attacks and slow to rebuild.
- Democracies may need to consider physical and regulatory measures, international cooperation, and support for Ukraine to counter Russian digital influence, emphasizing that true digital sovereignty requires distributed infrastructure and resilient governance rather than isolation.
