Yandex NV: Yandex data center in Finland loses power

According to circulating reports, Yandex's Finland data center has been disconnected from the electricity grid by Nivos Energia Oy. This news comes in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite the company, which is registered in the Netherlands, not being on a sanctions list. That said, Yandex, dubbed Russia's Google, has been accused of spreading Russian propaganda, and back in March, the EU imposed sanctions on the CEO of Yandex N.V. Tigran Khudaverdyan, who has now left his management position after being forced to resign. 

The facility, located in the town of Myatla in southern Finland, is now, according to a company spokesperson, "temporarily running on its own diesel generators," and renegotiating an agreement with its energy supplier. 

Despite being cut off, the company's data center, which was built in 2014 and is fuelled by local wind energy, has been supplying Nivos with waste heat to heat local homes in a district heat system. Speaking about its current position, in a statement Marko Ahl, President and CEO of Nivos, said: "With the anti-Russian actions caused by the war in Ukraine, we must weigh up our cooperation with the Russian-owned Yandex on a case-by-case basis."

Adding: "We strongly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand by the people affected by the war. Our primary task in this exceptional situation is to act responsibly and ensure that we supply our customers with heat, clean water, and electricity."

However, there have been concerns that blocking off Yandex will mean that locals will have to turn back to fueling their homes with non-renewable energy once again.