‘Russia’s Google’ ordered to hide maps of oil refineries after Ukrainian attacks

Moscow: So, Yandex, which is like Russia’s version of Google, just got hit with a court order. They have to hide maps and images of oil refineries. This comes after some serious drone attacks from Ukraine on Russian fuel sites.

The court’s decision is a response to a lawsuit from Russian regulators. They found that detailed images of oil plants were way too easy to find on Yandex. The court said these images make the facilities vulnerable to attacks.

Yandex has to start removing or altering images of these oil plants from their maps. This is a big deal because it’s the first time the Russian government has told Yandex to take down info to help with the war effort. Yandex hasn’t said anything about it yet.

Apparently, one of the refineries has been hit by Ukrainian drones four times. The court mentioned that this plant is crucial for supporting the Russian military. They believe that having public access to these images could hurt national defense.

Interestingly, the Telegraph found that Yandex’s mapping tools show a bunch of major oil and gas plants that Ukraine has targeted. These satellite images give a clear view of the facilities, and even drone and street view images were available.

Since the war started almost three years ago, Russia has been launching air and drone strikes against Ukraine’s energy systems. They’ve caused a lot of damage, taking out about half of Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

Last year, Ukraine ramped up its own attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities, using drones to hit targets deep inside Russia. They’ve even bombed munitions plants and sabotaged railways carrying fuel.

Just recently, on December 22, a bunch of Ukrainian drones went after an oil depot in Oryol Oblast, marking their second major strike on that facility in a month. While Russia claimed to have shot down many drones, videos showed the storage plant on fire.

Ukraine has even targeted facilities as far away as Tartarstan and St. Petersburg. Some of Ukraine’s allies are worried about this strategy, fearing it could escalate the conflict even more.

Yandex started as a search engine back in 1997 and has been a big player in Eastern Europe, often competing with Google. They’ve had a rocky relationship with the Kremlin over censorship, especially after the invasion of Ukraine, which led to heavy sanctions and increased government control over their services.

After being blacklisted, Yandex had to sell off parts of its business, including its Russian search division, at a lower price last year. It’s been a tough time for them.