As of: 2026-10-12 07:22 CEST.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code). Human editor: Adam Bicz.
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/v/tom-mccarty-two-strikes-48-hours-yandex/

# 2 Strikes in 48 HOURS... Ukraine Is Wiping Out Russia's 'Google' Data Centers

Tom McCarty, 11 October 2026, YouTube. 108,077 views as of 12 October 2026.
Kind: Review.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwOXdbhtbQ

## Why it is here

19-minute explainer on the Sasovo and Kaluga strikes and the Chervonenkis supercomputer; ~108k views.

## Description (written by Gemini from the video)

**Summary**  
Presented by Tom McCarty, this news and geopolitical analysis report covers Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes in October 2026 against data centers operated by Russian tech giant Yandex in Sasovo and Kaluga. McCarty analyzes the context of these strikes as symmetrical retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukrainian data centers in Kyiv, detailing the architectural vulnerabilities of data centers, the asymmetry of drone warfare, and the strategic consequences for Russia's sovereign internet and AI ambitions.

**What is shown**  
* [00:00] Eyewitness footage and reports of fire and smoke billowing from targeted Yandex facilities in Sasovo and Kaluga.
* [00:43] Graphic breakdown of Yandex’s consumer ecosystem (Search, Maps, Taxi, Food, Music, Email) and Yandex Cloud services.
* [01:35] Map animation locating Moscow and the Sasovo data center in the Ryazan region (~300 km southeast of Moscow).
* [02:10] Metrics and reports on Russian digital outages (DownDetector logs, NetBlocks connectivity drop, Russian Railways, and CIAN outages).
* [03:05] Graphic overview of Yandex's supercomputers (*Lyapunov* and *Chervonenkis*) housed at the Sasovo site.
* [04:24] Map graphic and footage of the second drone strike near Kaluga (~150 km southwest of Moscow) impacting Yandex’s 63 MW campus.
* [06:03] Timeline and news clips documenting Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv’s data infrastructure (including the Parkovyi data center) beginning September 23, 2026.
* [09:20] Map illustrating Ukraine’s legal and infrastructural backup strategy, shifting government and institutional data to Western European cloud servers.
* [11:15] Graphic comparison of the economics of drone strikes: multimillion-dollar server facilities versus long-range Ukrainian strike drones (such as Fire Point's FP-1).
* [12:26] Map and video montage tracking concurrent Ukrainian deep strikes across Russia (Omsk, Salavat, Ukhta, and Redkino).
* [17:43] Strategic breakdown outlining the four key factors to monitor, including Yandex's remaining data centers (notably in Vladimir).

**Claims & numbers**  
* The presenter states that two of Yandex's five major data centers were struck and damaged within a 48-hour period in October 2026 (Sasovo on October 8 and Kaluga on October 9).
* The presenter notes that Yandex’s Dutch parent company sold its Russian business to Russian investors in 2024 for over $5 billion.
* Following the Sasovo strike, the presenter cites DownDetector logging over 1,300 outage reports and NetBlocks recording Yandex Cloud network connectivity dropping to roughly 70% of normal, causing temporary disruptions for Russian Railways, real estate platform CIAN, and regional governments.
* The presenter reports that Yandex shares fell by more than 3% on the Moscow Stock Exchange following the first strike.
* The presenter states the Sasovo facility housed two of Yandex's three primary AI supercomputers, *Lyapunov* and *Chervonenkis* (the latter ranked 19th on the Top500 supercomputer list in 2021).
* According to the presenter citing TASS and local officials, the Kaluga facility has a 63 MW power capacity across a 1.4 million square foot campus, where several modules were taken completely out of operation, leaving 9 people injured and 26 drones reportedly intercepted.
* The presenter claims that starting September 23, 2026, Russia struck at least 8 major data centers across Kyiv, leaving over 100,000 households with internet outages and knocking the certified Parkovyi data center offline on October 1.
* The presenter states the Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point produces the FP-1 long-range drone, with an estimated range of up to 1,500 km and a cost of roughly $55,000 each.
* Russian defense authorities claimed to have intercepted 399 drones across 18 regions on night one and over 500 on night two, totaling approximately 900 intercepted drones over the two nights.

**Notable quotes**  
* [00:19] *"A symmetrical response."* (Quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via Reuters)
* [08:22] *"Two can play at this game."* (Quoting Andriy Kovalenko, former head of Ukraine’s Center Against Disinformation)
* [10:37] *"Russia wanted a sovereign internet. It now has a sovereign target."* (Tom McCarty)

**Assessment**  
This is an independent open-source geopolitical and military analysis video combining curated news footage, satellite overlays, and graphics to provide operational commentary. The analysis relies on verified public statements, open-source damage assessments, and media reports without displaying original investigative fieldwork or raw unedited footage.

_Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-10-12 from the video's audio and frames._

## Related

- 2026-10-08: [Drones hit Yandex's Sasovo data center, home to two of its AI supercomputers](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-08-drones-strike-yandex-sasovo-data-center/)