What happened to Yandex in October 2026?
Between 8 and 11 October, three Yandex data centres in Russia were damaged and stopped: in Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir. The widest outage came on 11 October, when Yandex Go, Yandex Pro and Yandex Pay failed in several countries at once.
On the night of 8 October the data centre in Sasovo (Ryazan region) lost power, a fire broke out, and the site was shut down completely. On 9 October several modules at the Kaluga site were knocked out entirely. On the night of 11 October the Vladimir data centre stopped completely. Yandex said the infrastructure was damaged by drone attacks. Nobody was hurt.
The outage reached well beyond Russia. Complaints came from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Serbia. In Georgia, too, Yandex errors began on 11 October and withdrawals stopped here as well. The head of Yandex Uzbekistan called it "a serious outage", and Yandex Uzbekistan named restoring payments and partner payouts as its main priority.
What taxi drivers went through
For several days drivers could not withdraw their earnings, order payments reached their balance late or wrong, and for some drivers Yandex Pro would not open at all.
According to press reports, the problems looked like this:
- Card withdrawals stopped. One driver said a withdrawal sat in "Processing", and a new request only brought a message to wait.
- Order payments reached the balance late or incorrectly, especially for cashless trips.
- Yandex Pro would not open for some drivers and showed no orders for others. Navigation failed too, and Yandex advised drivers to use Google Maps or Waze.
- Support was overloaded and replies were slow.
The money is in the app, but the fuel is needed today
A driver's daily costs do not wait. Drivers wrote that they could not withdraw money, not even for fuel. Some asked passengers to cancel in the app and pay cash, which risks a blocked account and lost bonuses.
Yandex teams worked around the clock on recovery. The company apologised and promised to pay for every completed order in full. On 13 October the company said payouts to drivers and partners for the previous two days had resumed.
What it meant for taxi fleets
A taxi fleet cannot speed up Yandex payouts. When they stop, most fleets can only wait, and some pay drivers out of their own pocket.
In Tyumen, one fleet owner paid drivers out of their own pocket, as much as they could. Other fleets spoke of losses: when a driver asks a passenger to cancel and pay cash, neither the service nor the fleet earns a commission.
The bigger issue is trust. Drivers who cannot get paid for two days do not stop to work out whether the service or the fleet is to blame. They see that their money is out of reach. In a crisis two things decide everything: how fast a fleet restores withdrawals, and how honestly it tells drivers what is going on.
How ProRide responded
Our engineers built and launched a backup payout route in 3 hours. ProRide drivers could withdraw again from the evening of 12 October, and no failed withdrawal took a single tetri from any driver.
ProRide is a Yandex partner fleet. We cannot repair Yandex data centres. Our job is to keep the time drivers spend without money as short as we can, and to make sure they always know what is happening. Here is what we did:
- 1We saw it early. We logged the first errors in the early hours of 11 October and paused withdrawals that morning so no money would go astray.
- 2We kept drivers informed. They got an SMS saying their money was safe, and a second one when withdrawals were back.
- 3We built a backup route. Once it was clear that recovery on Yandex's side would take time, our engineers built and launched a backup payout route in 3 hours.
- 4We restored withdrawals. From the evening of 12 October ProRide drivers could withdraw again.
- 5Not a tetri lost on failed withdrawals. No failed withdrawal attempt was deducted from any driver's balance.
If you drive with ProRide and something on your balance looks wrong, call the 24/7 hotline: +995 504 221 696.
What drivers faced and what we did
In an outage a driver needs three things: access to their money, clear information, and a way to reach support. Below is what the press described, and what ProRide did.
The middle column is based on press reports about drivers and fleets; the last column covers ProRide.
| Press reports | At ProRide | |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawals | Stuck in "Processing" | Backup route, from the evening of 12 October |
| Information | Overloaded support, rumours in chats | SMS: first "your money is safe", then "withdrawals are back" |
| Money | Late or incorrect crediting | Failed withdrawals never deducted |
| Support | Slow replies | 24/7 hotline |
What to do if Yandex Pro won't let you withdraw
Do not delete the app, do not request the same withdrawal twice, keep screenshots, and contact your taxi fleet. Yandex promised to pay for every completed order in full.
These steps apply to any outage, not just October's:
- 1Do not delete the app or log out. The problem is on Yandex's servers, not on your phone.
- 2Do not repeat a withdrawal of the same amount. A second request does not speed anything up.
- 3Screenshot any disputed order: date, time, addresses and amount.
- 4Check the history: an order's payment is in its order details, and withdrawals are in the balance transactions.
- 5Do not ask passengers to cancel and pay cash. It risks a blocked account and lost bonuses.
- 6Trust only official channels and your fleet. Do not use third-party "helper" apps or unofficial versions of the app.
During an outage, be wary of anyone who promises a "fast withdrawal" and asks for your account details. Never share your password or an SMS code.
How to check whether your taxi fleet is reliable
A reliable fleet is not one that never has problems. It is one with a plan: its own backup way to pay drivers, timely updates, and support that works at night.
Before you register, ask any fleet these questions:
- What happens if Yandex payouts stop? Does the fleet have its own backup route?
- How will you find out what is going on: by SMS, by phone, or only from rumours in a chat?
- Are you charged for a failed withdrawal?
- Does support work at night and at weekends?
ProRide's answers
At ProRide, withdrawals are daily, to TBC, BOG and Liberty, at any hour and on holidays. The fee is 0.55 ₾, or from 110 GEL, 0.5% of the whole amount. The hotline runs 24/7, and the fleet commission is a flat 6.5%, down to 3.5% with the loyalty programme. Yandex charges its own commission separately.
For the other criteria, see How to Choose a Taxi Fleet. Manage your balance and withdrawals in the ProRide app: App Store · Google Play.
