NKVC says Yandex attacks have not curbed Russian disinformation

Russian disinformation activity in Lithuania has not significantly changed after attacks on Yandex data centres in Russia, the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) said, LRT reported, citing information provided to news agency ELTA.

Monitoring by Lithuania’s interagency analysts found no significant change in information pressure directed at Lithuania after attacks on Yandex data centres on October 8 and 11. Russian information sources continued operating towards Lithuania without noticeable systemic disruptions, the NKVC said.

Russian information pressure remained at a moderate level in recent days, with no major changes detected on social networks, video platforms, messaging apps or pro-Russian information channels.

The NKVC recorded connection errors to Yandex servers, interrupted user sessions, irregular page reloads and temporary search engine disruptions after the attacks. But it said there was no evidence linking these problems to a decline in Russian disinformation in Lithuania.

EU assesses impact and proposes sanctions

European Union foreign affairs and security policy spokesperson Christian Wigand told ELTA that the bloc, its member states, Ukrainian institutions and other partners were assessing the impact of the attacks on Russian data centres.

The EU is continuing to strengthen its response to foreign information manipulation and interference, Wigand said. Training to counter disinformation has been expanded to 65 countries. The bloc has also contributed to the removal of dozens of websites and hundreds of advertisements linked to a Russian mercenary recruitment network in Africa, and helped Armenia counter foreign interference ahead of elections in June.

“We are proposing new sanctions targeting Russia’s information manipulation and interference infrastructure,” Wigand said. The EU will also consider closer cooperation with like-minded partners with which it has security and defence partnerships.

Disinformation could shift to other platforms

The NKVC said disruption to one service provider’s infrastructure would not be enough to significantly limit Russia’s ability to conduct information operations against Lithuania. Russia’s system relies on multiple online platforms, social networks, information portals and interconnected content distribution channels, it said.

If some channels are disrupted, information may be redirected to other platforms. The centre said a lasting impact would be possible only if disruptions were systemic and sustained, affecting several important parts of the content creation and distribution chain at the same time. It added that its more detailed statistics on Russian information pressure, distribution channels and key narratives were not being made public.

Attacks by drones damaged three Yandex data centres in Russia’s Ryazan, Kaluga and Vladimir regions between October 8 and 11. The strikes disrupted the company’s infrastructure and the provision of some digital services, according to the article.