Russian court tells Yandex to hide refinery images over drone attacks by Ukraine

MOSCOW – Russia is moving to restrict online images and maps showing one of the country’s oil refineries in an effort to protect the crucial infrastructure from Ukrainian drone attacks.

A Moscow court ordered Russia’s leading online search engine, Yandex, to block access to maps and images of the facility, which has been attacked multiple times by drones, according to court documents.

The lawsuit was filed by the prosecutor’s office on behalf of the Russian state.

In 2024, unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, attacked the refinery four times resulting in damage to infrastructure and production units, as well as injuries to employees, the documents said.

The refinery, which the court said is a part of the country’s military-industrial complex, was not named in the documents, but the listed address appears to indicate the location of Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery – one of the largest in Russia.

Yandex declined to comment.

Rosneft did not immediately respond to questions sent during a public holiday in Russia.

Russian refineries have become a frequent target for Ukrainian drones over the past year as part of an attempt by Kyiv to curb the Kremlin’s ability to finance its invasion and disrupt fuel supplies to front-line troops.

The strikes have caused fires, production cuts and even at times complete shutdowns.

By providing open access to information on the refinery through online maps that show the location of workshops, tanks and other infrastructure, Yandex “makes the facility extremely vulnerable to enemy weapons”, the court said in its decision. 

This “undermines the state’s defence capability and has a negative impact on timely deliveries to the armed forces”, it added. BLOOMBERG