Russian Court Orders Yandex to Remove Oil Refinery from Maps Amid Drone Attacks

A Moscow court has issued an unprecedented ruling requiring Yandex to remove maps and satellite images of a major Russian oil refinery from its platform, Orda reports, citing TASS.

The ruling follows four drone attacks on the facility in 2024 that damaged infrastructure and injured workers.

While the specific refinery remains unnamed, court documents describe it as a facility of "strategic importance."

The court determined that public access to these images compromises military supply chains and national defense capabilities.

Once the ruling takes effect, Yandex will have 30 days to remove or blur images of the refinery's infrastructure, including workshops, compressor stations, and storage tanks.

The decision can still be appealed; Yandex initially resisted satisfying the demands. The demand also comes following increasing drone attacks in Russia.

According to the BBC, Ukraine has attacked oil refineries and oil infrastructure in Russia at least 64 times as of August 2024.